The Yankees have managed to win their first four series without their usual overwhelming power at the plate from Aaron Judge.
There were early concerns after striking out in both at-bats in a March 10 exhibition game against the Braves that warranted an MRI exam on his abdomen.
Nevertheless, it was a fleeting issue as the results came back clean and the former MVP returned to the lineup after 10 days and went on to play four of the final six games.
There wasn’t too much concern then, and there is not any currently from Yankees manager Aaron Boone about whether Judge’s abdomen issue and absence can be blamed for his slow start.
Even as it continued with an 0-for-4 outing on Wednesday night that ended with a hope of a win in his hands when he flied out to center with the bases loaded to end a 5-2 loss to the Marlins.
“I’ve talked about this a lot, hitting comes — it’s different every year. It’s fickle a little bit every year from great players like Aaron Judge to guys that are trying to get on the roster,” Boone said prior to the game. “Sometimes it clicks in a week into spring training and you kind of got that feeling going right away. Sometimes it takes longer. There’s not always a rhyme or reason to it. So, could there be something to it? Maybe, but not necessarily. I mean, it wouldn’t surprise me if he would have come out and homered on Opening Day.”
He also struck out twice Wednesday — both times on a 1-2 count.
Judge now has a 178 batting average and .744 OPS on just eight hits across 45 at bats.
Through Judge’s first 12 games last season, he had 14 hits over 44 at bats with a .318 batting average and 1.017 OPS.
There is a different metric of interest to Boone at the moment, taking Judge’s 14 walks into account including one earned on Wednesday.
“I mean, he does have an almost .400 on-base percentage (.367 to be exact),” Boone said. “So, I sure would like to struggle like that. It’s a matter of time.”
“I feel like his at-bats have been really good. What was he on base four times [Tuesday] night? I think so. I’m not too worried about Aaron Judge.”
