The New York Yankees watched in anticipation of their captain, Aaron Judge. Yoshinobu Yamamoto had Judge in a 2-0 count when he sent a fastball right to the bottom of the strike zone. Now, this is the sweet spot where All Rise definitely would have crushed in the regular season. But this was the postseason; things were different, and hence he let it go. After the Los Angeles Dodgers scored a 2-0 lead, Judge admitted, “When I’m doing well, I usually fire on that.” Throughout the season, he has, after all, dominated the area with a stunning.975 slugging percentage.

Yamamoto then gave a curveball in the same spot, which Judge managed to foul off. For Judge, those two pitches will surely replay in his head, since he went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts that night. Now he had six strikeouts in nine at-bats over the first two games. And he wasn’t thrilled with it, in his words—it was eating him up!

Aaron Judge vows to step up the next game

In Game 2 of the World Series, it was the ninth time that Judge found himself at the plate with runners on base in the first inning. There is no greater agenda than scoring early and burying the opponent in a hole. But with Gleyber Torres on second base, Judge struck out! He wasn’t able to deliver when his team needed him the most. But he isn’t giving any excuses!

That marked Judge, 0-for-8 with six strikeouts in first-inning opportunities when either Torres or Juan Soto reached base before him. Judge acknowledging his errors, said, “I definitely got to step up and do my job. Guys around me are doing their jobs and getting on base. I’m failing to back them up. We got to turn it around in Game 3.” Now Judge is a veteran; he knows what’s tripping him up—the strike zone.

Normally, Aaron Judge is in the 97th percentile for chase rate, only swinging at 18.7 percent of pitches outside that zone. But as he headed to game 2, he chased 30.4 percent of them—a substantial number. Judge’s word-class hits are rooted in timing and swing mechanics, and without that, he has lost that edge. And as far as how his mechanics were in terms of making a comeback, Judge said ‘getting there’—but does he have that much time now?

Alex Rodriguez urges Yankees to shake things up for Judge!

Alex Rodriguez is a proud former Yankee, and watching them lose Game 2 against the Dodgers must have hurt. Plus, Mookie Betts also came to rub salt all over his and Derek Jeter’s wounds. All in good taste, that is! Rodriguez warned that the New York Yankees needed to move this around, or things would get over quicker than anticipated.

A-rod idea? Move Judge up in the lineup. “Maybe you flip Soto and Judge. You try to activate and jump-start Judge a little bit. You go (Gleyber) Torres, Judge, Soto.” Rodriguez wants the Yankees to unlock Judge’s full power at the plate. But whether Boone would move his favorite player from his current position is very much doubtful!

Judge truly has had a quiet postseason by his standards too. He has just one hit in his last 24 postseason at-bats. His batting average stands at.199 in the postseason, and it’s the fifth worst in the history of the New York Yankees players. Results are the only thing that matters now, and Staton, who has been on fire, defended Judge, saying he’s good in at-bats. But right now, the quality of at-bats means nothing, with time running out. Rizzo has mentioned Monday’s game to be a must-win game. And he couldn’t have been more right.

Aaron Judge has already been booed by fans because of his performance, but if he fails to perform on Monday, he might hear jeers. What do you think will happen in Game 3? Let us know!