Aaron Judge went 0-for-4 with a strikeout Thursday night and the New York Yankees dropped a 2-0 decision to the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, a loss that underlined a wider offensive slide for a club that has scored just 50 runs over the last 15 days.
Judge, who struck out looking in the first, grounded out to shortstop in the third, popped out to second in the sixth and grounded into a double play in the eighth, summed up his night plainly: "I’m not doing nothin’ at the plate." He added he thought some of the problem was "making sure we’re swinging at the right pitches."
The numbers make the moment heavier. Judge has not homered or driven in a run in 10 games and entered Thursday hitting.206 with seven hits in 34 at-bats over his previous nine contests; he also had 12 strikeouts and five walks in that stretch. Still, Judge carries 16 home runs this season — tied for third most in baseball — and a.935 OPS, seventh best in the majors.
The Yankees as a unit offered little support. New York collected just three hits, struck out 14 times, went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base against Toronto. Over the last 15 days the club’s hitters have a.660 OPS and the team has scored 50 runs, numbers that help explain why the Yankees sit 4½ games behind the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
Manager Aaron Boone defended Judge while diagnosing the slump as part mechanical, part timing. Boone said Judge was "just going through a little bit right now," that the problem was probably "timing related," and that "Usually that means good things are coming on the other side." Boone also noted fastballs had "got on him" and that he’d been "a little out in front on some other pitches."
The timing of the slide matters. The Rays have won four straight and eight of their last 10, and they swept the Yankees in three games at Tropicana Field on April 10-12. Judge acknowledged the challenge, saying, "Anytime you’ve got a hot team coming in, it’s going to make it tough," and added, "Especially a hot team like that where they took care of business when we were in Tampa when we last saw them."
There is a split in how grim to be. The slump is clear in the box score Thursday, but underlying metrics provide friction: Judge still ranks among baseball’s top power hitters with 16 homers and a.935 OPS. A Sports Illustrated mailbag recently noted two very hard-hit balls in one game — a 111.9 mph groundout and a 106.6 mph flyout, each recorded with roughly 75 mph bat speed — and judged Judge would be fine. That same mailbag argued Boone is likely safe this season unless something catastrophic happens, and suggested the club revisit Boone’s job security in 2028.
Complicating the picture for New York is the rise of others in the lineup. Ben Rice has become the Yankees’ most productive bat and leads baseball with a 1.029 OPS, a bright spot as the rest of the offense searches for consistent contact.
The urgent question now is simple and stark: can Judge and the lineup reverse the skid before the Yankees host the AL East leaders? Judge tried to defuse the moment with optimism, saying, "We’ve just got to tighten up a couple of things here with us and we’re right where we need to be," and insisting, "The offense isn’t too far off."
For readers following other American League storylines, see our coverage titled "Mariners Vs Royals: Bobby Witt Jr. Carries Kansas City Into a Slump-Battered Series."
