Yankees’ Judge knocks open bullpen gate while making running catch in win
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Yankees star Aaron Judge knocked open the gate of the visiting bullpen at Dodger Stadium whereas making a spectacular working catch within the eighth inning of New York’s 6-3 victory over Los Angeles on Saturday.
Judge may need saved a run for the Yankees together with his sprinting catch on J.D. Martinez’s liner into the correct discipline nook with Max Muncy on first base and no one out. The AL MVP made the catch an instantaneous earlier than working into the bullpen door, which got here partly open when he hit it.
“I thought I had a chance off the bat, but you never know,” Judge mentioned. “I knew it was going to be close to the wall there, but luckily I came down with it.”
Judge hung onto the ball and stayed upright whereas placing one foot within the bullpen, however Muncy was allowed to advance to second as a result of Judge technically left the sector of play.
Judge mentioned he wasn’t injured by his newest fearless fielding feat.
“I’m feeling good,” Judge mentioned. “The fence got most of it. Thankfully, it was that part of the wall where it had some give, so I think that saved me quite a bit. If it was a solid wall, it might be a different story, but (I) made the play.”
Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone briefly argued the umpires’ determination to ship Muncy to second, however solely after detouring out to proper discipline to examine on Judge. Boone had been nervous about Judge’s proper foot, which kicked the concrete ledge under the swinging door pretty arduous.
“When we got halfway out there, he was pushing us back, like, `I’m fine, fine,”’ Boone mentioned with a smile. “I just ran out and said, `I just wanted to tell you what a great catch that was.”’
Boone didn’t thoughts Judge’s heedless run into the nook for a troublesome catch, saying it’s the one means Judge is aware of easy methods to play. The Yankees have been pretty certain the bullpen door had been latched closed, but it surely wasn’t robust sufficient to include Judge.
“Honestly, I feel like it probably softened the blow a little bit,” mentioned Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, who improved to 7-0. “For him to just blow through it, I think it took a little bit of the kinetic energy out of just slamming up against the wall, but it’s still very concerning when such a great player has to go so hard into the wall. He’s got a lot of guts.”
The catch was Judge’s second spectacular fielding play on the Yankees’ West Coast journey. On Monday evening in Seattle, Judge leaped on the wall and used each inch of his 6-foot-7 body to remove a house run from the Mariners’ Teoscar Hernandez.
Judge additionally hit his nineteenth homer of the season Saturday for the Yankees, placing a 113-mph line drive into the brief left-field porch at Chavez Ravine.
“I keep trying to tell myself every now and then to appreciate what we’re watching,” Boone mentioned. “He’s just one of the great players we’ll see, and he does it in so many ways, and he’s the best person.”
The Yankees led the Dodgers 5-3 on the time of Judge’s catch, and reliever Michael King retired the Dodgers’ subsequent two batters. New York ultimately closed out its fifth win in seven video games, rebounding from an 8-4 loss Friday to open this high-profile interleague sequence.
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