A big hand for Aaron Judge, a big Yankee with a sore pinkie
Aaron Judge of the Yankees celebrates his solo home run in the sixth inning of an MLB game against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Thursday in Toronto. Credit: Getty Images/Cole Burston
Aaron Judge proved one of two things Thursday night at Rogers Centre by homering twice and making a run-saving diving catch to lead the Yankees past the Blue Jays, 6-2, for yet another biggest win of the season.
Either a pinkie finger is overrated or Judge’s playoff-minded priorities are much greater than any concerns about the smallest digit on his left hand.
We’ll go with the latter, because Judge himself admitted he’s still feeling some discomfort after dislocating (and popping back in) that left pinkie Sunday night at Fenway Park.
For a player who stands 6-7, 282 pounds, a hurting finger may appear from the outside like a minor inconvenience, but it’s only because he treats it that way in the midst of a postseason push.
Judge has dealt with a number of injuries during his six-year career, some severe enough to cost him large chunks of time. When he’s on the field, however, Judge is laser-focused on just one thing, and that’s been on display right through his 145th game Thursday night.
The Yankees had reason to be worried about the finale of this critical series against the Jays, primarily because they were facing the presumptive Cy Young Award favorite in Robbie Ray. It took all of one at-bat for Judge to swat away that early tension when he crushed Ray’s opening pitch to him for a 455-foot homer that reached the restaurant in centerfield.
"That was amazing, just dead-center like that," said Anthony Rizzo, who also smacked one of the Yankees’ five home runs. "I thought it hit the hotel."
In the sixth, Rizzo went back-to-back with Judge, whose second blast — this time only 441 feet into the blacked-out batter’s eye — put the Yankees in front to stay at 3-2. The distance may have been shorter, but it got out quicker, with an exit velo of 115.3 mph (the first was 114.6).
When asked how that first-inning moonshot ranked on his all-time list, Judge was reluctant to give it a rating.
"It’s up there, but you just never know," he said. "When I made contact with that one, I didn’t know if I hit it too high for it to go out, so I really didn’t enjoy it too much."
We’re not sure what Judge meant by too high. When he first connected, the ball appeared headed through the open roof and off the adjacent CN Tower.
Ray did settle down after that to retire 13 straight at one point, but once Rizzo got him in the sixth, he left another 95-mph fastball over the middle to Judge, and Gleyber Torre stung him with a 425-foot two-run shot that same inning.
When Judge goes deep, it matters. That pair brought his homer total to 39 for the season, and 15 of his last 32 have either tied the score or given the Yankees the lead, as Judge did twice Thursday night.
"He’s playing like the great player that he is right now, when we need him the most," Aaron Boone said.
Not just at the plate, either. In the second inning, after the Blue Jays tied the score at 1 on Corey Dickerson’s double, Santiago Espinal lifted a fly ball to shallow rightfield that appeared to be trouble. But in came the sprinting Judge, who snatched the ball inches above the turf while slamming his knees on the artificial surface.
As athletic as Judge is, it never looks graceful when a big man hits the ground like that, and he’s caused some damage to himself making similar plays. But this time, he appeared fine, except for that darned pinkie.
"That one didn’t feel too good," Judge said. "But for me, games are rarely won in the ninth inning. They’re won in the third inning on a ball that gets by, or a single that scores somebody. So for me, I just pictured in my head, this could be the ballgame right here. Luckily I was able to get there in time, secure it and hold on to it. And that pinkie held on."
The Yankees are fortunate to have Judge down this crucial stretch, as he always seems to be in the right place at the right time with a bat or a glove. He has 22 RBIs in his last 19 games and again is rising to the occasion with the Yankees closing in on a wild-card berth.
"He’s a superstar," Rizzo said.
In a must-have game, Judge was the go-to guy for the Yankees. And if the Cy Young favorite couldn’t contain him Thursday night, that sore pinkie shouldn’t be much of a problem either, for however long this October run continues.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
