Aaron Judge slams helmet in frustration as Yankees beat Rangers 5-4 in DH opener
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ARLINGTON, Texas — A very unusual display of anger came from Aaron Judge, who slammed his helmet on the ground. There is very little time left for the New York Yankees slugger to hit his 62nd home run.
Aaron Judge hasn’t hit a home run in five games, since he tied Roger Maris for the American League record with 61. The Yankees’ 99th win of the season didn’t even come close to going over the wall.
Speaking about Judge’s reaction in the dugout, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told:
“I’m sure he wants to hit it. It hasn’t been much different than what I hear or see out of him frankly throughout the year. He lets out a little bit down there. Not much typically, but no, I really think he’s fine.”
Aaron Judge went 1 for 5 with a single and scored the winning run in the first game of Tuesday’s day-night doubleheader against the Rangers.
Aaron Judge was smiling as he talked to a small group of people in the tunnel between games. He didn’t talk to reporters before going back into the clubhouse, though.
Fans in the crowd of 30,553 who wanted to see history were on their feet when Aaron Judge grounded out on the first pitch of the game and again in the third when he flew out to right.
When Aaron Judge walked back into the dugout in the fifth, he was caught him “slamming his helmet against a rack” there in an outburst of frustration.
Aaron Judge hit a single in the eighth, and he got to bat again in the ninth after Kyle Higashioka walked with two outs.
Later Higashioka told about the crowd’s reaction while he got the walk:
“That might have been the best ovation I’ve ever gotten. It just shows how special Judge’s season has been and just how much the fans want it for him. They’re just so excited for him to get one extra chance. So I’m just glad to get him up to the plate.”
The next pitch was a ground out by Aaron Judge. He saw a total of 12 pitches and hit eight of them. That was the third time he hit the first pitch when he was up to bat.
Unlike other pitchers earlier, Rangers’ starter Jon Gray “didn’t want to pitch around him” and wanted “him to get his chances.” The pitcher told, “I wanted to go after him and throw him some good pitches, but I also wanted to beat him.”
Aaron Judge’s only home run in the last 13 games was No. 61, which he hit in Toronto last Wednesday. Since then, he is 3 for 17 and has been walked five times and hit by a pitch. This has dropped his batting average to .310.
In his attempt to win the Triple Crown, he is behind AL leader Luis Arraez, who started the day at .315. Aaron Judge has 130 RBIs.
It was Judge’s 156th game ever, and since August 5, he has played 54 straight games for the Yankees. Judge also started the second game. He hit first and played right field. In the first game, he was the designated hitter. Wednesday is the last game of the four-game series.
The AL East-winning Yankees got home runs from Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, and Kyle Higashioka.
In the eighth inning, Higashioka hit a home run to straightaway center off reliever Brock Burke, tying the game at 4. Higashioka’s 10 homers from June 12 onwards tied his career high.
The next batter, Judge, hit a single with a line drive, and Harrison Bader’s single allowed him to score.
Adolis Garca hit his 27th home run, a two-run shot in the fifth inning that gave him 100 RBI for the Rangers, who were losing their seventh straight game.
Aroldis Chapman won the game with a perfect seventh inning. Jonathan Loaisiga got his second save by pitching the ninth inning. He gave up a single, but the game ended with a double play when Leody Taveras ran from second base to catch Marcus Semien’s liner to right.
In the first inning, Cabrera hit his sixth home run, and Peraza’s first home run in the big leagues tied the game at 2.
The ball hit by Peraza went into the packed left-field seats, where fans were waiting for Judge to hit a ball. The man, who caught Peraza’s ball, was at the ballpark with his mom after Hurricane Ian flooded their home in Fort Myers, Florida, last week. They gave the ball to the Yankees, and in between games, they met Peraza.
Josh Jung, a rookie third baseman with a .198 batting average, broke up New York’s no-hit bid with a single with one out in the eighth inning on Monday night. His single to right field in the first inning was worth two RBI.
Before Garca was hit by a pitch, Nathaniel Lowe hit a single with two outs. Jung hit the ball, and Garca slowed down near the third base. However, when Marwin Gonzalez hesitated before throwing the ball back to the infield and Garca ran home.
In the fifth, Peraza hit a single and stole second base to start the game. Then, Gonzalez hit a single that scored a run to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead.
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