Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are the All-Star hitters of the New York Yankees team at present. In the 2024 Midsummer Classic, the Judge-Soto duo had a great time as the American League was able to win again. It was their tenth victory over the National League in the last eleven meetings. They were able to beat the NL side with Shohei Ohtani 5-3. Anyway, even though these two All-Star hitters are playing at their finest, the NY side is not able to win as many games as they would want to. Since June 13, the Bronx Bombers went 6-16. Later, in July, they had a very poor start as they went 4-8.
Even after the All-Star break, the Yankees have not yet won a series. They shared the four-game series 2-2 with the Tampa Bay Rays. Lately, in the Subway Series, the Pinstripes lost the first game because Aaron Judge had an off day with the bat. Jose Quintana did a great job as he walked Judge every chance he got. Clearly, it was the Mets’ strategy to keep walking both Judge and Juan Soto. But that’s when the other sluggers in the Yankees lineup had to step up. Nobody really did, and as a result, the Bombers lost 3-2.
It’s High Time For Yankees Offense To Be More Than Just The Judge-Soto Duo
Recently, ex-Yankees teammates of Luis Severino teased him for not participating in the Subway Series. In reply, the best Mets starter said, “I’m not afraid of the Yankees, who have just two good hitters.” Moreover, he was sure that he could walk both Soto and Judge. On Tuesday, the city rivals of the Bronx Bombers proved that was their plan all along. They wanted to walk Aaron Judge, not giving him a chance to hit. In the post-game interview, the Yankees captain said, “It was essential to pass the baton to the next guy in such situations.” That’s what he did, but JD Davis, Anthony Volpe, Gleyber Torres, and whoever came after Judge failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Moreover, the addition of Davis as the cleanup hitter and Jahmai Jones as the leadoff hitter surprised a lot of fans.
In the post-game interview, Aaron Boone said, “The middle of the batting order needs to settle down here, and then they can bite any approach opponents come along with.” Moreover, it will allow them to go after Aaron Judge. Clearly, the Mets knew the middle of the lineup th, and the Yankees looked weak at the moment. Hence, the Pinstripes need people like Volpe, Torres, Alex Verdugo, and others to step up asap. Someday, the Judge-Soto duo can have a bad day at the plate. But if others don’t step up, then Boone’s side can forget about making the World Series this year. Clearly, they need more reliability in their offense.
Aaron Judge Is Right Behind Juan Soto In Most Walks This Year
On Tuesday, Aaron Boone added JD Davis to counter the southpaw of the Mets, Jose Quintana. He thought about giving Ben Rice a day off because of his record against left-handed pitchers. But when Aaron Judge walked on four occasions in Game 1, Davis could not do much damage against Quintana. Clearly, Brian Cashman will need to look for a couple of quality starting pitchers as well as a couple of quality hitters if possible just ahead of the July 30 MLB Trade Deadline.
Anyway, both Judge and Soto keep leading several offensive categories in the league at the moment. For instance, in case of most walks, Juan Soto has 81 walks so far, leading the majors. Right behind Soto is his partner in baseball crime, Aaron Judge with 79 so far.
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