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NEW YORK — When Aaron Judge hits in the first inning of Friday night’s Yankees-Rays game at Yankee Stadium, his sinking batting average will be displayed next to his headshot on the center field video board.
It’s down to .250 after a hitless Thursday night in the Yankees’ 2-0 loss to the Blue Jays. Judge never hit a ball hard or out of the infield, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout looking, an 80-mph groundout to short, a popout to second and a 6-4-3 double play grounder that was 78 mph off the bat.
If you’re thinking .250 is low, you’re right and wrong. It’s poor for Judge because the three-time MVP hit .331 last year to win the AL batting title, but it’s actually nine points above the .241 league average.
Still, by anyone’s standards, Judge is in a slump.
In his last eight games, he’s batting .129 with 12 strikeouts in 35 plate appearances.
In his last 10, he has no homers and no RBI.
His current RBI drought is tied for the longest of his career. Judge also went 10 games without driving in a run in 2016, his pre-rookie season, then again in 2019 and 2023.
Asked about his struggles, Judge was blunt.
“Well, I’m not doing nothing at the plate,” he said. “That’s what we’re doing right there.”
That’s one way to put it.
Here’s another from Yankees manager Aaron Boone:
“Yeah, he’s just going through a little bit right now. Usually that means good things coming on the other side. A little in-between probably.”
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In-between is baseball talk for a hitter looking for a fastball and seeing a different pitch with less velocity, or vice versa.
“Some fastballs got on him,” Boone added. “He’s a little out in front of some other pitches. Usually anytime a hitter goes through it a little bit, it’s a little timing related. I think that’s all it is.”
Despite the slump, some of Judge’s season stats remain elite.
He’s tied for second in the league with 16 homers and is on pace for 51. He’s also fourth in the AL with a .972 OPS and tied for 11th in RBI.
His 95-RBI pace would be higher if he had more chances to drive in runs. In 51 games, Judge has had only 40 plate appearances with runners in scoring position and 11 resulted in walks, five intentional.
Six Yankees have had more RISP plate appearances, including Giancarlo Stanton, who’s been on the injured list for almost a month.
When Judge has been at the plate with ducks on the pond, he’s been clutch hitting .321. On the Yankees, only Cody Bellinger’s .341 RISP average is higher.
Ben Rice leads the Yankees with 33 RBI, but he’s batting just .212 with runners in scoring position.
The Yankees lead the league in runs scored and homers, but have been in a team hitting slump for a couple weeks. While going 5-10 in their last 15 games, they’ve scored three or fewer runs nine times, one or none five times.
Breaking out of the slump this weekend won’t be easy with Tampa Bay on deck.
The Rays started the season 12-11, then won 21 of their last 25 to build an MLB-best 33-15 record that has them 4 ½ games up on the 30-21 Yanks for first in the AL East.
The Rays’ pitching is a big reason for their success — their 3.57 ERA is third-best in the league — and they have their top three starters lined up this weekend. Nick Martinez (4-1, 1.51 ERA) will start on Friday when Yankees ace Gerrit Cole returns from Tommy John surgery, Drew Rasmussen (4-1, 3.19) pitches Saturday and lefty Shane McClanahan (5-2, 2.82) will be on the mound Sunday.
“The offense isn’t too far off,” Judge said. “You get a couple timely hits and get a couple walks when you need it, some good things are going to happen.
“We’ve got to get some traffic back out there. That’s where we had a lot of success early in the season, where we just constantly had guys on base causing some havoc out there. We’ll get it right.”
If it turns this weekend, Judge might be the one carrying the Yankees. He’s due, and his past slumps almost always have led into long hot streaks, some lasting a month or two.
“He’ll get through it and somebody will pay the price real soon,” Boone predicted.
JUDGE’S LONGEST RBI DROUGHTS
10 games, Sept. 2 to Sept. 11, 2016: .143 average, 4 for 28, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 BB, 15 K, .369 OPS.
10 games, July 24 to Aug. 3, 2019: .190 average, 8 for 42, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 18 K, .483 OPS.
10 games, Sept. 3 to Sept. 14, 2023: .147 average, 5 for 34, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 10 BB, 11 K, .517 OPS.
10 games, May 11 to May 21, 2026: .184 average, 7 for 38, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 5 BB, 13 K, .516 OPS.
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