At first, Alex Rodriguez called it a “subtle move” the Yankees could make to ignite their lineup after falling behind 2-0 in the World Series, but Kevin Burkhardt corrected him.
That, the Fox Sports postgame host told Rodriguez during the postgame show Saturday night, would be a “big move.”
With Yankees star Aaron Judge stuck in a lengthy postseason slump that now includes multiple strikeouts in five consecutive games, Rodriguez suggested switching Judge and Juan Soto in the batting order to “try to activate and jump-start Judge a little bit” — creating a top three of Gleyber Torres, Judge and Soto.
“Sometimes you just got — you’re desperate for runs, you’re desperate to activate the big man,” Rodriguez said. “Bottom line is, fellas: it’s getting late early, OK, and if Judge doesn’t get started, it’s gonna be a short series. So you’re desperate, why not have their hottest hitter protect Judge, and then you split, you can create a matchup problem for the bullpen.”
The latest instance of Judge struggling unfolded Saturday during the Yankees’ 4-2 loss in Game 2, when Judge went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and watched his postseason average fall to .150.
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He struck out with Torres in scoring position in the first inning and Soto in scoring position in the ninth, though Soto ended up scoring when Giancarlo Stanton — the next batter — singled to give the Yankees life in the final frame.
Judge has just one hit during the World Series, and he hasn’t had a multi-hit game this postseason.
He doubled once against the Royals in the ALDS and homered in consecutive games of the ALCS — including a game-tying blast against Emmanuel Clase in the eighth inning of Game 3 — against the Guardians, but Judge hasn’t collected an extra-base hit outside of that, either.
“Especially with what Gleyber and Juan are doing at the top of the lineup, I gotta back them up,” Judge told reporters Saturday. “They’re gonna keep getting on base, I gotta drive them in or move them over.”
The World Series shifts back to Yankee Stadium for at least the next two games and potentially the next three if the Yankees win a game, starting Monday night when Clarke Schmidt starts against the Dodgers’ Walker Buehler.
And if Alex Rodriguez was in charge of constructing the Yankees’ lineup, he might make a tweak to their batting order, too.
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