At first, it was nearly another strikeout for Aaron Judge — the latest in a stretch that already had featured 18 across the Yankees’ past nine games.
He watched a 99 mph pitch paint the edge of the strike zone.
Home plate umpire Nick Mahrley even motioned for a strikeout.
But after A’s pitcher Joe Boyle was called for a balk that wiped out that strike call, Judge turned his second chance into a two-run homer, scoring Juan Soto by launching the pitch over the right-field fence and giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Wednesday night.
It was Judge’s fourth homer of the season and 261st of his career, which moved him past Derek Jeter and into ninth place in Yankees history, and his first since April 14.
That was the last time Judge’s average hovered above .200.
The strikeouts started stringing together. The hits — especially those powerful homers — mostly disappeared.
And after a four-strikeout game Saturday against the Rays, Yankees fans even started booing Judge, even as the outfielder and manager Aaron Boone reiterated that he was close to finding a rhythm.
“Even when he has a bad series or whatever where he’s not swinging great, Aaron Judge is always close,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said pregame. “Physically, I think he’s in a good spot. It’s just a matter of really getting that next level of timing down, and when he does that, he’ll take off.”
Judge wasn’t alone, either.
Most of the lineup — from Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres to Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells — had cooled off following the Yankees’ early-season tear, which started with five consecutive wins boosted by a strong offense.
But at the center of that was Judge, who went two consecutive series without an extra-base hit.
But then Judge doubled Tuesday in the Yankees’ win.
A flyout left the bat at 104 mph.
And the homer in the first inning against Boyle, which followed a one-out walk by Soto and most importantly the balk call, reflected the most tangible sign yet that the outfielder had started to find a groove.
Judge also bounced a 1-2 pitch into right field for a single to lead off the third inning, giving him a multi-hit game for just the fourth time this season.
