Judge, who measures in at 6’7’’ and 282 pounds, is only a few inches taller than Ohtani, but with the season he’s having, it’s no wonder Judge can sometimes seem larger than life.
The five-time All-Star recorded his league-leading 24th home run of the season in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 6–4 win against the Dodgers on Sunday. Ohtani, for his part, is slashing .311/.379/.571 with 15 homers on the year.
Judge and Ohtani rarely find themselves in direct competition with each other, yet there was one play from the game in which Judge tried—but ultimately failed—to throw out Ohtani. During the eighth inning, the Dodgers star proved too speedy and managed to outrun Judge’s throw to home plate, sliding in milliseconds before the catcher tried to tag him.
The Yankees avoided the sweep against the Dodgers and went home with the victory, but this will hardly be the last time that the league’s top sluggers in Ohtani and Judge square off.
Aaron Judge was handed an early trip to the clubhouse in the New York Yankees' tilt against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
With one out in the seventh inning and New York clinging to a 5–3 lead, Judge was called out on strikes by home plate umpire Ryan Blakney. Judge disagreed with the call and said a few words to Blakney as he walked back to the Yankees' dugout. A few seconds later, Blakney threw Judge out of the game.
It was Judge's first career ejection in his 870th MLB game. Per YES Network's Seth Rothman, the moment also marked the first time a Yankees captain was ejected from a game since Don Mattingly on May 13, 1994. Derek Jeter, who was the Yankees' captain from 2003 to '14, was never ejected in his 20-year career.
The Yankees weren't pleased with Blakney's decision. Judge walked back to argue more with Blakney, and he was quickly joined by New York manager Aaron Boone. Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo shouted his opinion from the dugout railing.
As is custom, baseball commentator Jomboy provided fans on social media with some lip reading.
Editor's note: The video below contains profanity.
Trent Grisham replaced Judge in center field to start the top of the eighth inning. The Yankees finished off the 5–3 win to improve to 22–13, good for second place in the AL East.
UPDATE: Juan Soto's MRI came back with only inflammation, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman. His AL MVP odds have still dropped to +450 at FanDuel Sportsbook -- but they have rebounded after falling as low as +650.
The initial prognosis on Juan Soto's MRI is that it's only inflammation and he should be ok, per @JonHeyman
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 7, 2024
What follows is the initial story of the odds movement following Soto's exit from Thursday night's game against the Minnesota Twins. His odds have remained the same at DraftKings Sportsbook (+235) throughout this process.
New York Yankees fans everywhere held their breath on Thursday night after Juan Soto was lifted from the team's win with what the Yankees called, "left forearm discomfort."
However, MLB insider Jon Heyman revealed on Friday that the Yankees are "nervous" when it comes to Soto and his injury and his odds have fallen since the injury occurred.
"The Yankees have their fingers crossed, they're nervous."
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 7, 2024
Soto is slashing an impressive .318/.424/.603 with 17 homers on the season. He was right behind teammate Aaron Judge in the odds as the No. 2 favorite for the AL MVP.
That has since changed at FanDuel Sportsbook, a sign that Soto could be looking at a stint on the injured list. Even if Soto plays, oddsmakers may be taking their chance on him being less effective with his forearm bothering him, at least in terms of his ability to win AL MVP.
Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. and Baltimore Orioles star Gunnar Henderson have leapfrogged Soto in the latest AL MVP odds. Soto dropped from +210 to +650 since being removed from Thursday's game, a massive falloff that signals oddsmakers believe he's at least expected to miss some time or be less effective in the MVP race.
The other important note here is Judge has jumped to a clear favorite in this market. After posting an OPS over 1.400 in May, Judge is now hitting .289 on the season and leads baseball in homers (21), doubles, and walks drawn.
Despite the movement at FanDuel, that isn't the case everywhere in the betting market.
In this case, oddsmakers still believe in Soto's AL MVP case, although Witt Jr. and Henderson are right on his heels for the No. 2 spot.
Until the Yankees officially announce a roster move, Soto's status is truly up in the air.
The star outfielder addressed the media on Thursday, saying he's been dealing with the ailment for a couple of weeks. While he's been able to play through it, there has to be some concern that this has been building over time.
Juan Soto says he's felt the forearm tightness for a couple weeks but it hasn't impacted his baseball related activities at all pic.twitter.com/UuyC2ATyyA
Soto didn't have to make many throws against the Twins on Thursday, and it's unclear if there is a specific spot where he could have aggravated his forearm that led to his removal from the game.
If the injury isn't bothering Soto when he hits, he theoretically could stay in the AL-leading Yankees lineup as a designated hitter.
The problem? That spot is usually manned by slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who has been injury-prone in the past and is certainly risky to play in the field. For now, the Yankees and their fans -- and Soto bettors -- are hoping for some positive news about his injury in the coming days.
I think this helps Judge's MVP case the most, as the Yankees would rely even more on the 2022 AL MVP if Soto can't play for any period.
Judge has finished in the top five in MVP voting in three different seasons in his MLB career.
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Following Saturday's 7–3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, New York Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge acknowledged that the series against the team he grew up rooting for means a little bit more than any other.
Judge, a Linden, Cali. native, has now homered in each of the two games the Yankees have played against the Giants—and he has done so in front of countless friends and family members at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
After the game on Saturday, Judge was asked about what it's like to "come home" and get the chance to play in the ballpark where the team he grew up loving plays.
Judge acknowledged how much it means to him, saying that he wants to "do something special" for the friends and family who have showed up to support him.
"I have a lot of family and friends in town. You've got to do something special for them, I'm trying to stay locked in and put on a show for them."
"I have a lot of family in town, a lot of friends in town," Judge said. "You've got to do something special for them, I'm trying to stay locked in and put on a show for them."
And put on a show, Judge has.
The Yankees slugger, on the heels of a red-hot month of May that saw him post a 1.397 OPS in 28 games while breaking out of an April slump, has gone 4-for-7 with three home runs and six RBI in two games in San Francisco, including a 464-foot moonshot to left field on Saturday.
Judge, during his 2022 free agency bid, nearly ended up in a Giants uniform. Even though that didn't come to fruition, it's safe to say that the Yankees captain is making the most of his first opportunity to play in a ballpark that's very near and dear to his heart.
