World Series: Aaron Judge is flailing, Yankees sinking along with him

New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge walks back to the dugout after striking out against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning in Game 2 of the baseball World Series, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

LOS ANGELES — Aaron Judge is sinking ever deeper into a gruesome postseason slump, and the New York Yankees’ championship chances are fading right along with him.

The Yankees’ superstar slugger went 1 for 9 with six strikeouts in his first two World Series games at Dodger Stadium, dragging down New York’s offense in two losses to Los Angeles.

Judge was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in Game 2 on Saturday night. He struggled even to make contact against Yoshinobu Yamamoto and reliever Blake Treinen, who fanned him with Juan Soto on second base for the first out of the ninth inning in the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory.

READ: Dodgers beat Yankees, 4-2, for 2-0 World Series lead

Judge swung and missed six times in his four at-bats in Game 2. The entire Dodgers roster only did that 12 times.

Judge will probably win his second American League MVP award after the season ends, but he is nobody’s idea of an October hero.

He is 6 for 40 with two homers and a whopping 19 strikeouts in these playoffs, getting all six of his RBIs during a three-game stretch in the AL Championship Series. He is 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and he has just one hit in his last 22 at-bats in that situation dating to past postseasons.

This isn’t anything new for one of the game’s top hitters from April to September: Judge’s career postseason average has dropped to .199 as the series shifts to Yankee Stadium.

Nothing in this marquee World Series matchup was more compelling than the matchup of Judge and Shohei Ohtani, the two most dangerous sluggers in baseball.

But while Giancarlo Stanton and Freddie Freeman took some memorable swings in the first two games, the two big names had exactly one big hit between them — and then Ohtani injured his left arm while sliding in the seventh inning of Game 2, putting his status in doubt for the Bronx.

Ohtani doubled off the wall and scored the tying run in the eighth inning of Game 1, but the two-way superstar is just 1 for 8 with a walk and two strikeouts in the first two games, repeatedly putting outs in play early in the count.

READ: Shohei Ohtani suffers injury in World Series Game 2

Judge went 1 for 5 in Game 1, with Jack Flaherty striking him out in his first three at-bats. His only hit was a solid two-out single to center in the seventh, but Stanton couldn’t advance him.

He then popped out with two Yankees on base to end the ninth inning, failing to come through in a situation tailor-made for postseason heroics. Even worse, the Dodgers walked Juan Soto to get to Judge, who couldn’t make them pay.

Judge has been dismal in his first postseason since he signed a $360 million, nine-year contract after setting an AL record with 62 homers in 2022 and beating out Ohtani for the AL MVP award. New York missed the postseason last fall.

Judge led the majors this season with with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and a 1.159 OPS. He batted .322 and scored 122 runs, driving the Yankees forward to the AL East title despite enduring a career-long home run drought of 16 games spanning August and September.

The 6-foot-7 Judge’s powerful swing has been loopy and inaccurate lately, although it appeared to be getting more efficient in recent weeks. He’s still swinging and missing at an alarming rate, including a poor swing at a slider from Yamamoto below the zone in the first inning of Game 2. He’s frequently been out in front of breaking pitches and behind on fastballs.

He flied out to right to end the third inning, and Yamamoto struck him out again to end the fifth, with Judge flailing at a vicious, low splitter that dipped in on him.