David Lennon: Yankees' Aaron Judge, deep lineup helping club leave tire tracks on MLB
Yankees’ Aaron Judge gives a wink from the dugout after his two-run home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Yankee Stadium on Monday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Brian Cashman’s run-it-back Yankees are running over the rest of the sport. Two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom was the latest to stumble off the Bronx mound wearing tire tracks Tuesday night, but he’s hardly alone due to a lineup that’s become as deep as it is deadly.
Giancarlo Stanton hasn’t stepped to the plate since April 24 due to a calf strain. Ben Rice, who’s posted Judge-ian numbers, sat for his third straight game Wednesday as he nurses a bruised left hand.
Yet the Yankees continued to bulldoze the opposition. Through Tuesday’s deGrom smackdown, which moved them to 15-2 over their last 17 games, the Yankees were baseball’s top offense during that span, ranking first in just about every category you can name, along with the biggies -- batting average (.276), on-base percentage (.364), slugging (.542), runs (113), homers (37) and wRC+ (149).
“I think we’ve just been able to do it a number of different ways,” said the ageless Paul Goldschmidt, who started again Wednesday in place of the hurting Rice and is 6-for-19 (double, HR) over his last five games. “Obviously there’s been homers, but we’ve done it with small ball and hits from one through nine in the order, a lot of different guys. It’s something that we talked about in the spring. It can’t just be one or two guys. It can’t be just one way we beat teams.”
Well, there is that one guy. I’m old enough to remember the Yankees’ season-opening road trip, through San Francisco and Seattle, when some people wondered what was wrong with Aaron Judge. Happened to strike out a few times, and suddenly we were all viewing a three-time MVP in decline.
As comical as that felt at the time, it’s even more ridiculous now. Entering Wednesday, Judge was hitting .429 (12-for-28) with four homers, nine RBIs and a 1.520 OPS in his previous eight games. Over his last 30, he has a slash line of .308/.459/.712 while smashing 12 home runs with 24 RBIs. During that stretch, he’s rocketed from a .185 batting average to .273 with an OPS that’s surged from .535 to 1.060.
Slow start? Maybe by Judge’s own supernatural standards. But he’s switched to MVP mode now, and at this rate, should be on pace for that fourth MVP trophy. Judge pointed to a few early adjustments as the reason for his more gradual ramp-up this season, which was nothing out of the ordinary for him.
“I do that every year,” Judge said. “Even if I’m hitting .400 in April, I’m tinkering with something new every day. Could be something subtle with hands or feet, the sights, the approach. That’s the beauty of this game. I think everybody in this room is just trying to get better.”
Whatever the Yankees are doing behind the scenes, it’s been very effective between the lines. After losing Stanton, in stepped Jasson Dominguez as the regular DH and he strung together an impressive three-game stretch (5-for-13, two doubles, HR, four RBIs) that also flashed an ability to do damage from both sides of the plate. On Wednesday, Dominguez made his third start in the cleanup spot against the Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi.
Last month, the glove-first Ryan McMahon looked unplayable due to a zero bat, which prompted backup Amed Rosario to get more than the usual platoon chances at third base. But McMahon has flipped that narrative, batting .304 (14-for-46) with three homers during the Yankees’ 17-game dominant stretch -- and his .877 OPS ranks fourth on the team over that time. Compare that to his first 17 games of this season, when McMahon was hitting .119 (5-for-42) and appeared to be flushing the remaining $32 million he’s owed through 2027.
“It’s all about stacking good at-bats,” McMahon said.
On Tuesday, McMahon won an impressive eight-pitch showdown with deGrom. After swinging through a pair of changeups, McMahon battled back from the 0-and-2 count to foul off three two-strike pitches, then pulled a curve ball over the rightfield wall for a tying two-run homer. It was his third career homer off deGrom, making him just one of four players to have three or more against the former Mets’ ace. The others are Giancarlo Stanton (4), Austin Riley and Freddie Freeman.
“He’s a talented guy that’s hit in the league,” manager Aaron Boone said of McMahon’s reversal. “He’s got power, he’s got some plate discipline. Just the day-in, day-out more quality at-bats, and that’s ultimately netted him some results now.”
Along with McMahon, it was long past time for Jazz Chisholm Jr. to join the party, and he’s heating up, too. Chisholm’s rainbow blast off deGrom Tuesday -- accompanied by a high-altitude bat flip -- was his fourth homer in a dozen games after starting the season with zero in his first 23. He also had 10 RBIs and a .921 OPS during the rebound, meaning that Chisholm could be getting dangerous again.
“Everybody’s on a real high horse right now,” Chisholm said. “We just want to ride it out as long as we can.”
And steamroll everyone else in the way.
Rodon on deck, Cole inches closer
Boone said before Wednesday night’s game that Carlos Rodon should be on track to make his season debut Sunday against the Brewers in Milwaukee. Rodon, who is recovering from elbow surgery, allowed six runs and seven hits (two homers) over 6 1/3 innings Tuesday night in final rehab start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. As for Gerrit Cole, the manager said he’d need at “at least a couple more” rehab starts after Tuesday’s 4 1/3-inning stint for High-A Hudson Valley (five runs, seven hits, four strikeouts).
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
