Aaron Judge’s brilliance adds a new dimension to the Yankees’ win over the Nationals
WASHINGTON – Aaron Judge made a new rule on Monday night: If he doesn’t hit a home run, his opponents can’t hit one either – at least not while he’s on the bench.
The Nationals accomplished the seemingly impossible, keeping Judge in the stadium, and the Yankees center fielder returned the favor by leaving everyone open-mouthed with his glove.
Judge made a diving catch while running into the left-center field wall, turning a game-tying home run into a double play, capping the Yankees’ 5-2 victory over the Nationals in Game 1 of the Series at Nationals Park.
While Judge remained at 51 home runs after hitting seven in his six games prior to Monday, his defensive gem (which robbed former Yankees prospect Andres Chaparro of the win before hitting a double to James Wood at first base to end the fourth inning of a 2-0 game) is the latest addition to his likely AL MVP highlights.
At the end of the evening, Judge also recorded his 1,000th career hit with a single played backwards.
“To have a guy out there who can climb the walls and catch balls that might otherwise go out of bounds, it’s just another plus for a guy who can do it all,” said Austin Wells, who added to the overall strong defense by intercepting a runner on second base before hitting his 10th home run of the year. “It’s really special to see.”
The Yankees (78-54) hit solo home runs by Gleyber Torres, Wells and Jazz Chisholm Jr. to win for the fifth time in their last six games, maintaining their best record in the American League and extending their lead in the AL East to two games over the slumping Orioles.
Anthony Volpe also had a three-hit game and scored twice on sacrifice flies from DJ LeMahieu.
Judge’s theft was part of the strong defensive effort that helped Nestor Cortes limit the Nationals (59-73) to just one run in 6 ²/₃ innings.
Alex Verdugo, who had a three-hit game, also made a great catch in the second inning when he ran into the left outfield wall with a runner on second base.
During the game, he hit the wall with his right knee, but was examined by the trainers – he said it was just a bruise – and played the rest of the game.
“Someone said I had space, and then I might have heard ‘wall’ at the end,” Verdugo said with a chuckle. “Then I noticed and looked, and it was a face full of wall.”
Two innings later, Judge Verdugo was superior, preventing him from hitting a home run that would have tied the game.
“Dugie really set the tone earlier by basically running through another wall,” Judge said. “As a teammate, you have to go out there and bring that energy. … To help (Cortes) out there and get you back, make a little double play there, I was pretty excited about that.”
His teammates were too.
“When he jumped up and caught the ball, I was almost a little stunned,” Wells said. “I just thought, ‘Holy crap.’ That was crazy.”
Cortes managed a shutout until the seventh inning before Juan Yepez ended it with a solo home run.
Previously, Cortes had thrown 20 ¹/₃ consecutive hitless innings and helped himself in the sixth inning by getting three strikeouts after putting runners on second and third base early in the inning.
“Great,” Cortes said of his defense. “I don’t think I would have lasted as long as I did in the game if I hadn’t made those incredible catches out there.”
Torres opened the game with his second home run in as many days before Volpe hit a double in the fourth inning and scored on LeMahieu’s first sacrifice fly.
After Wells hit a home run to make it 3-0 and open the sixth, Volpe hit a single up the middle and hurried to second base on a loose contact, but gave the Yankees a fright when his helmetless head collided with the knee of shortstop CJ Abrams at second base.
But he also stayed in the game after being examined by a trainer, then stole third base and scored on another sacrifice fly by LeMahieu.
Chisholm increased the lead to 5-1 in the eighth inning by hitting his 21st home run of the season – his eighth in 18 games as a Yankee – against left-hander Joe La Sorsa.
And even on a night when Judge didn’t hit a home run, his defense helped the Yankees win. His manager called his catch his “52nd home run of the year.”
“He’s really good at that stuff,” manager Aaron Boone said. “The night they keep him in the stadium, he’s bringing one back from the other side. Just a little reminder of how many other things he does well.”
