Aaron Judge became Aaron Judge again and gave a great playoff game its one shining moment. Judge’s majestic two-run moonshot over the center field wall in the bottom of the seventh inning highlighted his New York Yankees’ 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of the ALCS.

Judge entered Tuesday night’s home game batting just .133 with just one run batted in, one extra base hit and zero home runs this postseason. “Did he understand?” TBS play-by-play man Brian Robinson asked as Judge sent a letter-high 95 mph fastball from Guardians pitcher Hunter Gaddis skyward.

“He’s got it!” Robinson eventually added this when the ball landed well beyond the outstretched glove of leaping Guardians midfielder Lane Thomas. “Aaron Judge finally connects!”

Judge’s hit on Gaddis, the seventh Guardians pitcher of the game, came with Gleyber Torres on first and gave the Yanks a 6-2 lead that Cleveland could not overcome.

Judge’s troubles in the playoffs, coming after he had a regular season for the ages, were much discussed in the lead-up to Tuesday’s game, and certainly played a role in Guardians manager Stephen Vogt’s one-out decision in the bottom of the second inning to intentionally walk Juan Soto to load the bases. Right on deck.

Vogt then pulled starter Tanner Bibee after just 1.1 innings and 39 pitches, and his team trailed just 1-0. Vogt brought in Cade Smith to pitch for Judge. While the home fans chanted “MVP!” chanted the beloved but struggling slugger hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Anthony Rizzo from third, doubling both his RBI total in the 2024 playoffs and his team’s lead. Smith struck out Austin Wells to end the inning and the rally. But Vogt’s decision to forsake Soto and face Judge might be the little thing that gets Judge back into shape. God knows this series could use more of what it brought.

Vogt held Smith and all subsequent relievers short in what turned out to be a bullpen game for the Guardians; in the end, eight different pitchers threw his team’s eight innings. The Yankees used five pitchers. The constant conferences and associated commutes of the relievers to the mound and warmups helped produce a game that lasted 3.5 hours.

And it was a boring 3.5 hours! Despite the time leading up to the pitch, the only excitement, aside from Judge’s dong, came from missed opportunities and blunders. Both parties took turns arguing.

Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio got lost following a popup from Judge in the first inning, and his drop allowed Torres to score the game’s first run.

In the top of the fourth, Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm cut in front of shortstop Anthony Volpe while failing to field a grounder from Lane Thomas, taking away any shot Volpe had to get the speedy Guardian. (Volpe’s subsequent failure was originally scored as an error by both me and the official scorer, but was later changed to a single by the official scorer. I stand by my “E.”)

Then Chisholm hit a double to open the bottom of the sixth inning, but was thrown out at second base and extended the misery by talking his manager into a failed appeal of the out call. Cleveland right fielder Will Brennan misplayed Rizzo’s shot to right after taking his eyes off the ball to check on the Yankee runners, allowing Volpe to score and Rizzo to go to second. Rizzo returned the favor by getting a pickoff to end the inning. (Back to me: I’m pretty, I hadn’t seen two runners put out in one inning since I saw three runners put out in one inning by Baltimore Orioles reliever Tippy Martinez in 1983.)

Brennan’s second boner of the night came when he dropped a sinking liner from Volpe in the bottom of the eighth. (Somehow no foul was called by the same scorer who canceled out Volpe’s drop.)

Cleveland left the bases loaded twice. Clay Holmes, brought in for Yankees starter Gerrit Cole with one out and the bases loaded in the fifth and the Yankees up 3-1, picked up the win despite pitching only two-thirds of an inning. Holmes ended that inning, and the last real rally of the evening, for the Guardians by striking out Austin Hedges.

Yanks closer Luke Weaver gave up a rare but ultimately meaningless solo homer to Jose Ramirez in the top of the ninth to close the scoring. New York’s relievers have now allowed just two runs all postseason. The best-of-seven series now goes to Cleveland with the Yanks leading 2-0. And judge with his groove back.

“It was good to add two,” Judge said when asked about his home run in a postgame interview on TBS, which was just as great as the game that preceded it. “We just have to go out there and keep playing our game.”