NEW YORK ¨C There was plenty of discussion after Juan Soto remarked this week that things feel different without Aaron Judge lurking in the on-deck circle. But one piece of that commentary went without debate: The Yankees¡¯ captain really may be, as the Mets¡¯ star said, ¡°the best hitter in baseball.¡±
Judge¡¯s go-ahead seventh-inning homer highlighted a three-hit performance on Wednesday evening at Yankee Stadium, leading the Yankees to a 4-3 victory over the Royals. The Yanks completed a three-game sweep of Kansas City, a rematch of last year¡¯s American League Division Series.
¡°It¡¯s truly amazing,¡± said Cody Bellinger, who made a terrific catch that robbed MJ Melendez of a potentially game-tying hit in the ninth inning, preserving Fernando Cruz¡¯s first career save. ¡°I just feel like, in any situation, he¡¯s going to come out on top. He¡¯s the best player on this planet, and it¡¯s fun to watch.¡±
Added right-hander Clarke Schmidt, who tossed 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball in his season debut: ¡°He just does it all, obviously. He¡¯s Captain America.¡±
With seven home runs, Judge is tied for second in the Majors, behind only the Athletics¡¯ Tyler Soderstrom (eight). After enduring a slow March/April last year, the reigning AL Most Valuable Player tweaked his spring workload in hopes of getting off to a hot start.
He is succeeding, reaching base four times on Wednesday and leading the Majors in batting average (.409), on-base percentage (.519) and slugging percentage (.803). Yankees manager Aaron Boone sensed Judge was locked in and ¡°on everything¡± the whole night, noting, ¡°I felt like he was just seeing it well.¡±
Yet Judge hadn¡¯t homered since April 4 in Pittsburgh, a span of 10 games. And he was beginning to hear a few playful barbs on the topic from his teammates.
¡°It felt like he was just hitting a bunch of singles and doubles,¡± Schmidt said. ¡°I was like, ¡®You¡¯ve got to get one out of the park.¡¯ He was like, ¡®I know. I¡¯m hitting too many singles.¡¯ It was good to see him lift one out of here.¡±
Judge said he wasn¡¯t trying to go deep in the seventh inning, when he clipped a John Schreiber sinker into the right-field bullpen.
¡°I want to get on base. That¡¯s the biggest thing, hitting in the middle of the order and hitting second a lot,¡± Judge said. ¡°I¡¯ve got to touch first base. That¡¯s my job; touch first base and let the guys behind me do their thing, and if there¡¯s guys out there on the pond, try to drive them in.¡±
The blast helped the Yanks finish on top after Schmidt¡¯s solid effort kept them in the game. The Yankees entered the spring boasting arguably the game¡¯s most formidable rotation, but injuries to Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery) and Luis Gil (right lat strain) slashed their depth.
So, too, did Schmidt¡¯s bout with right rotator cuff tendinitis, which limited his workload and prompted a season-opening stint on the injured list to build stamina.
Essentially replacing Marcus Stroman (left knee inflammation) in the starting five, Schmidt made two sharp Minor League rehab appearances before Wednesday¡¯s 73-pitch outing, in which he permitted four hits and two walks and struck out two.
¡°We lost some guys with Gerrit, who¡¯s hard to replace, and then obviously Gil is coming back,¡± Schmidt said. ¡°But I definitely have to step up. The whole rotation has to step up. I know that my job is to go out there and be as consistent as possible every five days, and give my team a chance to win.¡±
Salvador Perez had a run-scoring single in the first inning off Schmidt, who settled down until the fifth, when Kyle Isbel legged out an RBI triple and Jonathan India pushed across the game-tying run on a groundout.
The Yanks nicked left-hander Kris Bubic for three runs over 5 1/3 innings. Anthony Volpe ripped a two-run double in the third inning, and Bellinger connected for a run-scoring double in the fourth.
Including the postseason, the Yanks are 22-6 in their past 28 games against the Royals, dating to Aug. 11, 2021.
¡°We know how good they are,¡± Judge said. ¡°Anytime you can take a series like that against a team you know you¡¯re going to see down the road, that kind of helps you going into this road trip.¡±