LOS ANGELES – When Aaron Judge is the best version of himself, the version that tormented pitchers all summer with a tear not seen since Barry Bonds’ peak, he destroys the 2-0 fastball Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw at him in the sixth inning of the Yankees. 4-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

The 90 mph sacrifice was in the bottom half of the offensive zone, in the middle, ripe for Judge to feast on. But Judge didn’t party. He didn’t even wave. Instead, it was a called strike.

“When we’re doing well, we can usually shoot for that,” Judge said.

Judge fouled off the next pitch, a low curveball that he usually devours as well. Then came the knockout punch: a splitter that fired under his hands. Judge swung and missed for strike three, an alarmingly frequent outcome in October for Judge and the Yankees.

The presumptive American League MVP went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on Saturday as the Yankees dug themselves a 2-0 hole in the series. He is 1-for-9 with six strikeouts in the World Series and 6-for-40 (.150) with 19 strikeouts in 50 postseason plate appearances.

Simply put, his troubles in the 2022 playoffs, which drew boos from his home crowd after his historic 62-home run season, have culminated in 2024.

“I think it comes down to just swinging on offense, getting a throw to drive,” Judge said. “You’re not going to get a pitch to drive, don’t try to make anything happen out there. It’s the postseason. Guys are going to make their pitches. They’re going to pitch you hard, so I just gotta buckle down and get the job done. That’s what it comes down to , and I don’t do that now.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Judge was expanding his strike zone, a problem he said stems from Judge not putting himself in a position to make good swing decisions. In other words, his timing is wrong. The judge said he was “close” to correcting his mechanics.

He said his problems in October are “kind of similar” to his problems early in the season, when he hit .197/.331/.393 with 40 strikeouts in 149 at-bats through May 2. He went 1-for-4 on May 3, starting a torrid 125-game stretch in which he hit .357 with 52 home runs and a 1.279 OPS to end the regular season.

“When you have a guy like that, who’s that good, I think it only takes one at-bat to get him going,” said Yankees right fielder Juan Soto, who went 2-for-4 with a home run in Game 2.

Yankees hitting coach James Rowson said Judge was “grinding right now – in a good way. He’s on top. He’s giving it everything he’s got.” He also noted the human element in Judge’s play in his first World Series.

“More than anything, we’re in this place and you want to do things,” Rowson said. “So sometimes you get a little bit anxious and your mentality is just trying to do a little bit more than normal. We have three more home games. I think the homecoming will be good for him.”

Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. echoed Rowson’s thoughts.

“We’re all a little worried, you know?” said Chisholm, who is also playing in his first World Series. “The first two games of our career World Series. So you go out there a little bit anxious. I feel like when we get home he’ll feel more confident and calm down a little bit.” going to a home crowd.”

Judge has whiffed 32 of his 59 swings (54%) over the past five games, a staggering stretch for someone who led the majors in home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and wRC+, while only sniffed at 31. % of his swings. He has 13 strikeouts over the five-game span, his most in all five games since June 2021.

He hit home runs in consecutive games during the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians, including a two-run tiebreaker off All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase in Game 3. He also has one double, three singles and seven walks in the postseason ‘.

Meanwhile, Giancarlo Stanton, who hit a two-run homer in Game 1, has six home runs and a 1.098 OPS in October. Soto, who kicked off a home run in Game 5 of the ALCS to send the Yankees to the World Series, is hitting .350 with four home runs and a 1.160 OPS in the playoffs. They fueled the Yankees’ postseason run.

The Yankees now wait for Judge, the third member of the slugging trifecta, to get back on track, pounce on those 2-0 fastballs across the plate and impact games. Those around Judge have faith he will do that. Their championship hopes depend on it.

Stanton said: “He’s going to help us win some games here.”