Yankees’ Aaron Judge reacts to Guardians’ ‘unconventional’ intentional walk to Juan Soto in ALCS Game 2

NEW YORK — In a game they could not afford to fall behind early, the Cleveland Guardians made a mess of things in the first and second innings of ALCS Game 2 against the New York Yankees (NY 6, CLE 3). Shortstop Brayan Rocchio dropped an Aaron Judge infield pop up to allow a run to score in the first inning, and that was only the start of Cleveland’s problems.

Anthony Volpe and Anthony Rizzo opened the second inning with back-to-back singles, then Alex Verdugo brought home a run with a double to left field. With runners on second and third with one out, the Guardians did something seemed unthinkable most of the season. They intentionally walked Juan Soto to load the bases for Judge, the presumptive American League MVP.

“It’s win or go home,” Judge said about Soto being intentionally walked ahead of him, “Every out, every inning is important. They’re trying to grab a couple outs there with a double play, but we were able to scratch out a run.”

The move worked, at least in the sense that the Guardians avoided a big inning. Judge brought home a run with a sac fly against reliever Cade Smith, who then struck out cleanup hitter Austin Wells to end the threat. Judge’s sac fly gave New York a 3-0 lead through two innings.

“They were hitting the ball around the ballpark, and we needed to stop the game,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt explained. “In that situation, you want to try to get a double-play ball. You want to try to get two outs with one pitch. You want to try to find a way to get out of that inning, and Cade did a great job doing that.”

Judge just wrapped up one of the greatest seasons by a right-handed hitter ever, but he’s struggled in the postseason, taking a .133/.364/.200 batting line into Game 2. Soto, meanwhile, is hitting .353/.455/.588 this postseason, and he singled in the first inning of Game 2. Based on those small samples, walking Soto to get to Judge is defensible, even if it seems crazy.

“I can’t say i was totally shocked there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “You gotta pick your poison sometimes and they were up against it. You need something to go really well to keep yourself in the game sometimes. You’ve got to take a shot with something that’s a little unconventional.”

That was the second time in 2024 that Soto was intentionally walked to get to Judge. On Aug. 14, the Chicago White Sox walked Soto with a runner on second and one out. Judge followed with his 300th career home run. The only other time in Judge’s career that the batter ahead of him was intentionally walked came back in Aug. 2016, his first month as a big leaguer.

“It happened earlier in the year, so not really surprised,” Judge said about Soto’s intentional walk. “He’s swung the bat well recently, trying to get a double play there get them out of the inning.”

Judge did get on the board later in the game, socking his first home run of the season in the seventh. The two-run blast gave the Yankees two important insurance runs.

“It’s always a matter of time with Aaron,” Boone said.

Judge went 1 for 3 with the sac fly and two-run homer in Game 2. It was his 14th homer in 50 career postseason games, which is a 45 homers per 162-games pace. That, incredibly, is a step down for Judge, who has averaged 51 homers per 162 games during the regular season, and 60 homers per 162 games over the last three years.

Our R.J. Anderson broke down Judge’s postseason struggles prior to Game 1 of the ALCS.