1. Since the end of May, every Yankees fan has been waiting for the team’s best player to return to properly evaluate them and create expectations for October, and that time is now. With the return of Aaron Judge, I guess now the Yankees can be evaluated properly, and after one game, the Yankees are who I envisioned they would be offensively, and that is still a heavily flawed offense.
2. This has nothing to do with Judge, who looked like someone who hasn’t played in a game or seen real pitching in more than three months as he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against a pitcher who can’t strike anyone out. (Gabriel Hughes entered Tuesday’s game with only 42 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings and then struck out six Yankees in five innings.) This has everything to do with the entire lineup sitting around and waiting for Judge to do something to carry them to a win.
3. The Yankees scored one non-defense-aided run in seven innings against Rockies pitching before Heliot Ramos’ three-run home run in the seventh created separation. At the time of Ramos’ home run, the Yankees were clinging to a 2-1 lead over the worst team in Major League Baseball and were one swing away from another Cam Schlittler masterpiece (7 IP, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K) being wasted. Thankfully, the one swing that changed the game was Ramos’.
4. As expected, Judge’s return didn’t suddenly turn a lineup full of sub-.700 OPS into a lineup you can trust to hit elite pitching every day in October. Ben Rice went 0-for-2 with a walk, Cody Bellinger went 1-for-4, Luis Garcia Jr. went 2-for-4, Spencer Jones went 0-for-3 with a walk, Jazz Chisholm went 2-for-4, George Lombard Jr. went 1-for-3, Ryan McMahon went 1-for-3 and Austin Wells went 0-for-3. The Yankees went 8-for-30 with three walks and 10 strikeouts. They couldn’t hit the starter Hughes and his 6.19 ERA in 11 career starts, couldn’t touch reliever Mark Manfredi, couldn’t score against reliever Jaden Hill and needed a Brennan Bernardino meltdown to put the game out of reach. It was a frustrating performance even if the final score made it look better than it was.
5. This is nothing new. The Yankees’ offense has been wildly inconsistent all season, both with and without Judge. And once Judge gets more games and plate appearances under him and finds his timing, he will hit, but it doesn’t mean others will follow. After wasting a week on the West Coast during a time when the Rays went 3-4, the Yankees nearly wasted the most lopsided starting pitching matchup of their season against the worst team they will face all season.
6. Here’s what I wrote about Judge’s return and what I expected for a nonsensical load management plan last week:
The Yankees will of course institute some asinine return plan for him like playing a full game in right field and then sitting the next game and then serving as the DH for the next game and then sitting the next game and then playing right field for a full game and so on. The Yankees believe they have figured out a scientific way to beat injuries, and yet, their load plans don’t prevent injuries because injuries happen. It’s idiotic to not play Judge as much as possible when he returns because if Judge is healthy enough to play then he should play every day. He needs at-bats with a limited number of games remaining before October.
Judge was removed early from the game on Tuesday because apparently you’re more prone to injuries late in the game than early in the game.
7. “I feel great,” Judge said. “I played half a game, so I don’t know what to say about that. I respect Boone, so whatever he says, I’m going to do. I’m not happy about it.”
Judge had to have known Boone was going to remove him before the end of the game, so it’s hard to believe he was surprised by the decision. The Yankees will likely continue this charade for the next few games before eventually letting Judge play a full nine innings of baseball.
8. The Yankees’ elimination number dropped to 15 after the Rays’ 7-1 win over the Braves on Tuesday. The division deficit has to be at most what it is now (four games) for the four-game series against the Rays in the Bronx in two weeks, but you would like it to be less so a sweep isn’t mandatory.
9. With Will Warren getting the start on Thursday, the Yankees now have their rotation lined up to have Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon start the four games against the Rays. A lot can happen to a rotation in 15 days, but the Yankees at least are planning for the Rays series like it’s a postseason series.
10. It would be nice if the Braves could show up and win the next two against the Rays, but I’ll take even one win from the fraudulent Braves at this point. The Yankees have to sweep this series against the Rockies if they want to keep the division dream alive and avoid playing a best-of-3 against the Red Sox to determine their fate for the second straight season. Sweep the Rockies and get even just one win from the Braves and it’s three games with 16 to go and four head-to-head games remaining.
Last modified: Sep 10, 2026
