NEW YORK — This Yankees loss does not rest on the impossibly broad shoulders of Aaron Judge.
In a way, none of them really does.
Judge, the all-world, homer-clubbing captain of this grand franchise, never truly deserves to be the scapegoat of any single defeat. The Yankees are where they are and might go where they hope to go in massive part because Judge is a generational force. Blaming the golden goose seems somewhat ungrateful, misguided.
But fair or not, Judge's run of playoff underperformance — which continued Monday in a dispiriting 4-2 loss to the Royals in Game 2 of the ALDS — summons a narrative both lazy and unavoidable. A 1-for-7 showing so far this autumn has pushed Judge's career postseason line to a disappointing (by his immense standards) .208/.311/.449 across 46 games. He now owns the single highest strikeout rate — 34.3% — in playoff history.
Doubts about Judge’s ability to shine on the biggest stage are growing from whispers to questions, silly as that might be.
“I mean, baseball — it's hitting. Got a base hit and a walk in a game,” Yankees skipper Aaron Boone said of Judge in his postgame news conference. “I get it, but hitting is hard. You're not going to hold him down long.”
The questions, for both Boone and Judge, come with the gig. It’s a part of it. They understand this reality. Judge has sent Yankee Stadium into pandemonium countless times during his springs and summers. He has made history time and time again. However, the presumed AL MVP has yet to deliver a trademark postseason moment or a World Series trophy. Until he does, the wondering will continue.
Boone and Judge also know that Judge is just one man, as Boone’s frustrated and dumbfounded tone during the news conference conveyed. Few other Yankees bats shined on Monday, either. Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres went hitless. Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s garbage time homer in the ninth was the team’s only extra-base knock of the evening. Starting pitcher Carlos Rodón recorded just 11 outs.
Judge’s forgettable 1-for-3 with a walk did not doom the Bombers.
“He's been on base three times in the first two games,” Boone went on. “It's not that easy. It's baseball. Hitting is a game of failure. He's going to get more opportunities, and I'll continue to place my bets on him.”
The Yankees delivered a sleepy performance on Monday, though it started with a jolt.
Rodón commenced the proceedings with an electrifying first inning that got the crowd riled and engaged. He began with a strikeout of Maikel Franco, freezing the Kansas City third baseman on a knee-high heater. An energized Rodón roared his way off the mound as Franco trudged back to the dugout.
Out No. 2 came on an elevated fastball, a rocket-fueled four-seamer blown past star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. The Yankees starter, pushed on by the pinstripe faithful, swaggeringly nodded to himself, then appeared to bellow, “Oooh, let’s go, boys.” An inning-ending punchout of Vinnie Pasquantino, this one on a dastardly slider, elicited a tongue waggle and wide eyes from the flame-throwing starter.
Rodón kept the Royals at bay in the second and third, and the Yankees pushed across one run in the bottom of that frame, but the juice wore off in a disastrous fourth inning. The Yankees’ lefty fell behind the first hitter, Salvador Pérez, after bouncing the All-Star backstop a pair of sliders. The next breaking ball, a dull spinner, found the strike zone. Unfortunately for Rodón, it also found the barrel of Pérez’s bat and — after 5.4 seconds — the left-field seats.
“Trust the pitch and go attack. That’s the mindset I wish I had,” the beleaguered starter explained after the game. “Obviously, I want to be better than that.”
Peréz, rounding the bases, flapped his arms like a bird in flight. That long ball was his fourth career home run off Rodón, and it pushed his career OPS against the southpaw above 1.500. The dark-eyed hurler, lips pursed, shook his head in frustration.
His night was about to get even worse.
Three more hits and two more runs later, Rodón was out of the ball game. He recorded a total of 11 outs in his first playoff start in pinstripes. Kansas City exited the frame with a 4-1 lead. From there, New York threatened but could not break through. The score didn’t budge until Chisholm went yard to start the ninth.
That upper-deck shot from the Bahamian brought some hope back into the imaginations of the home crowd, trimming the lead to two. Surprise first baseman Jon Berti singled off Royals closer Lucas Erceg with two outs. That sent Gleyber Torres up as the tying run, but the Yankees second baseman rolled out to end the threat and the game.
A symphony of groans rose above the first notes of Sinatra’s “New York, New York” as the Kansas City players shook hands and traded heck yeahs.
The series now moves to Kauffman Stadium for Game 3 on Wednesday. It'll be the Royals' first home playoff game since the 2015 World Series. The Kansas City skyline will provide a warm comfort to this road-weary Royals team, who haven't stepped foot in the City of Fountains since Sept. 22.
The Yankees, on the other hand, have been sleeping in their own beds since that same date. After Monday’s game, Judge and his teammates packed equipment into navy duffles. They now hit the road for the first time in more than two weeks.
With their loss Monday, a return trip to the Bronx is no longer a guarantee. In October, the stakes come at you fast.