LOS ANGELES – Beads of perspiration glistened on Aaron Judge’s forehead as the Yankees captain watched the music.

In the Yankees’ locker room after New York’s 4-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series, Judge stood trial. An imposing crescent of cameras, microphones and outstretched phones gave the struggling slugger little breathing room in Dodger Stadium’s comically cramped visitors clubhouse. Maybe it was the glare of the blinding TV lights or the heat of too many people in too small a space, but the typically cool character sweated it out.

Otherwise, Judge remained calm. In his signature low register, the Yankee talisman took full responsibility for the dismal start to his first World Series.

“I definitely have to go a step further. I have to do my job,” he said. “The guys around me do their job and get on base. You know, and I let them down, (not) support them.

Through two games in this Fall Classic, the presumptive American League MVP is 1-for-9 with six strikeouts. He doesn’t have a hit with runners on base. He’s chasing almost twice as many as in the regular season. The Dodgers have noticed and are attacking him with an abnormally high percentage of breaking pitches outside the zone.

Quite simply, the game’s most dominant offensive force, who just posted the best offensive season in two decades, looks unusually uncomfortable.

In Saturday’s Game 2, Judge went 0-for-4 with three punchouts, becoming just the sixth player to strike out three times in consecutive World Series games. Judge is only the second player in MLB history to accomplish the unsavory feat in the first two World Series games of his career, joining fellow Yankee Alex Rodríguez.

The others:

• 2022: JT Realmuto (Phillies) – Games 1 and 2

• 2017: Cody Bellinger (Dodgers) — G6/G7

• 2016: Mike Napoli (Cleveland) — G6/G7

• 2009: Ryan Howard (Phillies) — G2/G3

• 2009: Alex Rodríguez (Yankees) – G1/G2

Rodríguez is, perhaps poetically, the only player on that list whose team won the Fall Classic.

It’s worth noting that Judge isn’t the only Yankee whose struggles contributed to this 2-0 series deficit. The bottom three hitters in New York’s lineup – Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells and Alex Verdugo – are a paltry 1-for-24. Wells, the mustachioed catcher likely to finish in the top three in American League Rookie of the Year voting, seemed particularly outmatched. All three of his at-bats in Game 2 – a pair of easy groundouts and a strikeout – ended with fastballs in the heart of the zone.

But criticizing the last three hitters in the Yankees’ lineup misses the point. Judge is, was and will be the face, heart and soul of this franchise. Criticism is part of the job. Boos, if the strikeouts continue, will descend on him in the Bronx.

“The story is whatever is made of it,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo, one of Judge’s closest friends on the team, told reporters after the game. “But he’s a brick wall. He knows how to deal with all these things. These times now define him even more.

‘He’s the best person I’ve ever met. Good things will definitely come.”

These Yankees stormed through the American League this postseason despite a lack of production from their captain. Judge, whose 58 home runs topped MLB this year, has gone to the yard just twice this month. Contributions from other stars like Juan Soto and ALCS MVP Giancarlo Stanton kept the Yankees moving forward as Judge continued to search for his form.

A similar dynamic played out earlier this season, when Judge slogged through April, finishing the month with a relatively paltry .754 OPS and just six home runs. But once the calendar turned, Judge caught fire. And when the dust settled, his bad April was just an odd footnote in a historically great campaign. Water has found its level. The small-scale mirage faded into irrelevance.

Now, in the heat of a World Series, the Yankees can’t afford to wait.

The judge knows that all too well.

Unsurprisingly, the stoic slugger didn’t show even a hint of panic during his postgame comments. His teammates understandably still believe in their leader. Judge is too talented to keep it this cold for so long. And while the line between urgency and mania is Judge’s greatness, as both a hitter and leader, it essentially rests on his unwavering confidence in the long game. That has been the mantra for both him and this club all season.

But never has that faith been tested in any moment of this trial. The lights are brighter and stronger here now, under the spotlight of the World Series. Judge’s words do not indicate a man overwhelmed by the moment. However, his performance so far has told a different story.

He’s running out of time to write a new chapter.