Yanks unfazed by Judge's early funk: 'He's going to come around'

NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge shook his head as he walked toward the dugout in the ninth inning Saturday, hearing boos from the Yankee Stadium crowd after his fourth strikeout of the afternoon -- and on his own bobblehead day, no less.

Nestor Cortes offered an excellent start, but Judge and the other big bats were held silent into extra innings, where the Rays’ José Caballero stroked a go-ahead double that helped hand the Yankees a 2-0 loss at Yankee Stadium.

“I’ve heard worse,” Judge said of the fan reaction. “I’d probably be doing the same thing in their situation.”

The response comprised only a percentage of the sellout crowd of 47,629, but it underlined Judge’s early-season difficulties.

With 14 hits in 78 at-bats, the captain is batting .179 -- the same batting average he posted during a 27-game rookie cameo in 2016, a performance that prompted an offseason rework of his swing.

Judge does not believe any such drastic adjustments are necessary with his current mechanics, saying that “the swing feels great.”

Though Judge missed more than a week of Spring Training with an abdominal strain, he has repeatedly refused to use the injury as an excuse. Judge has eight extra-base hits (five doubles, three homers) and 11 RBIs, with 17 walks.

“It’s still early. It’s a long season,” Judge said. “I’m just missing the pitch. When I get a pitch in the zone, I’ve got to capitalize on it. I don’t get too many. That’s what it comes down to: Don’t miss your pitch when you get it.”

With an opportunity to walk the game off in the ninth, Juan Soto flied out to deep left, Judge fanned and Anthony Rizzo skied to right field. Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes said that he found it “disappointing” to hear Judge booed at home.

“He’s done a lot for this team, a lot for this organization,” Cortes said. “He’s going to come around. It’s just a matter of time. This team is way too good to have a lot of games like today’s. He’s going to come around. He’s going to be Aaron Judge.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that he is not concerned about Judge, who is 2-for-20 (.100) with 12 strikeouts since the beginning of the Blue Jays series on Monday.

“It’s hitting, man,” Boone said. “We’ll be here next year talking about a great player that’s in a little funk. We’re in April. It happens all the time with greatness every year. We’ll scratch our heads, and then you’ll look up in a few weeks and, wow, Aaron Judge is Aaron Judge.”

Boone acknowledged that he sees Judge’s swings “a little in and out of the zone,” noting that hitting “gets a little hard, even for the best of the best.”

Caballero knocked in automatic runner Richie Palacios with a double that opened the 10th, providing the game’s first run. Former Yankee Ben Rortvedt added a run-scoring single later in the frame off losing pitcher Caleb Ferguson.

The Yanks were turned aside in the home half, spoiling an afternoon that began with a sendoff to longtime radio broadcaster John Sterling and featured a dominant effort by the left-hander Cortes, who struck out nine without a walk over seven scoreless innings.

Cortes scattered six hits, pitching out of trouble in the fifth and sixth innings to keep the game scoreless.

“Hopefully I can continue to do that and go back to my old self, like I was in ’22,” Cortes said. “I feel like last year I was battling a lot [with] that bounce-back in between starts and couldn’t really work on stuff in the bullpen. I feel like I’m in a good spot now.”

Judge was hardly the only Yankee having trouble making contact on Saturday. Only Soto (2-for-4 with a double) recorded a multihit game.

Tampa Bay starter Zach Eflin held the Yanks in check over six innings, permitting three hits without a walk. Eflin struck out six, including fanning Judge in his first three trips to the plate.

“I wish we could have scratched out just one run early on,” Judge said. “I think that would have settled a lot of things.”