On a Chilly Day, Fans Keep Waiting for Judge’s 62nd Home Run

Many of those fans booed Baltimore’s starting pitcher, Austin Voth, and, later, reliever Spenser Watkins, who did not offer Judge many pitches in the strike zone.

After Saturday’s game, Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said he understood that it has been a “hard situation” for those pitching to Judge who “want to attack him” and also get him out.

“I get the conflict there, and that’s probably a little bit weird for every pitcher,” Boone said. “I totally respect that it’s a tough situation to be in as an opponent.”

Pitching around Judge, however, has given the Yankees opportunities to seize on their opponents whenever they walk him. That was the case in the bottom of the seventh, when Judge was walked by Watkins and the Yankees proceeded to pile on with three singles and a double, extending their lead by four runs.

“We know we got to capitalize on that, otherwise they’re going to keep doing it,” Stanton said of teams pitching around Judge. “I think they will either way, but it’s good extra punch when we do capitalize.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/01/sports/baseball/aaron-judge-yankees-orioles.html