The second half of the MLB season is set to get underway with many teams trying to finish strong to secure a good spot in the standings and have home-field advantage throughout the postseason. One team that has struggled in their last 10 games is the New York Yankees (4-6) but still sit with a (58-40) record (2nd in AL East).
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Yankees hope to get their early season mojo back starting with their four-game series against the Tampa Rays. One man at the forefront as the franchise player responsible for that is none other than AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge.
Judge, 32, is having another historic season with hitting splits of .306/.433/.679, eerily similar to his 2022 MVP year where he posted a batting average of .311, on-base percentage of .425, and slugging percentage of .685.
Judge Leads MLB In Homers
Judge leads the league in home runs (34), RBIs (85), and is first in on-base slugging (1.112). Part of the Yankees struggles recently is in large part due to injuries to key players such as designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton has been dealing with a left hamstring injury he suffered June 22 against the Atlanta Braves that’s kept him out for about two weeks and is expected to still be out for another few weeks before his return.
The Yankees next few opponents after the Rays include their mini–Subway Series against the New York Mets in back-to-back contests, their rivals the Boston Red Sox, and the dominant Philadelphia Phillies. None of these will be easy matchups as the Mets have been playing better as of late, winning seven of their last 10 games and the Phillies sitting atop the NL East and Division.
The Yankees will need Judge to be the prolific hitter he’s been all season long, especially in May and June when he combined for 25 homers, 64 RBIs along with 53 runs across those two months. If they hope to turn it around and have great momentum come playoff time to try to win their first World Series since 2009… It all starts with Aaron Judge.
