Aaron Judge puts on a show as Pete Rose attends Reds vs Yankees: "When the hit king's in town, you've got to put some hits out there"
Aaron Judge put on the show in the New York Yankees' 7-4 tenth inning victory against the Cincinnati Reds away on the road. Judge hit four times in a near perfect game with Reds legend and hitting king Pete Rose in attendance right behind the plate.
The captain for the Yanks was instrumental in driving home the tie breaking RBI single in the top of the tenth with Greg Allen scoring. Anthony Rizzo consolidated the score with a home run of his own as Judge scored just one at-bat later. Aaron Judge had overall 3 RBIs, 4 hits and one walk throughout the game.
With Pete Rose watching right behind him, he knew he had to make it special. Rose is still the all-time hits leader in MLB's history. He was known as the Big Red Machine that led to him winning plenty of batting titles and even an MVP award. Judge spoke about the moment right after the game.
"When the hit king's in town, you've got to put some hits out there," Judge said. "And our offense, up and down the lineup, did that..."
The slugger was behind the game as he faced Reds reliever Ian Gilbaut on a 0-2 count. With Greg Allen ready to make the play from second to third, Judge rose to the occasion by driving the 86 mph pitch down the left-field line.
"Just in your mind, you've got to always know that -- in a situation like that, you're at the plate, it doesn't matter the count," Judge said. "The pitcher, he's the one in the jam. You're up there, you've got a chance to give your team the lead. And I've got Rizzo behind me, DJ LeMahieu behind me. It's just about taking a breath, going up there with confidence. It doesn't matter if it's 0-1, 0-2, 3-2 -- go up there and stick to your plan, be aggressive and make something happen.
"So, up there in that situation, I swung and missed at the first two. But I knew that, sooner or later, I was going to get something over the plate and not miss it."
Aaron Judge feels Yankees have room to improve despite good form
The Yankees have currently gone on a 10-3 run since their loss against the Tampa Bay Rays. The roster seems to feel good about themselves. However, Aaron Judge there is ample room for improvement as they look to make it to the postseason.
"We're still not there yet," said Judge. "We still haven't clicked. But what I like to see is just guys having competitive at-bats. Guys are up there grinding down pitchers."
Like last season much of the Bombers success depends on Aaron Judge's form with the bat and that shown as the batter is averaging .299 currently with the Yanks in good form.