New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge led his team to an inspiring win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he was not there when they took on the Kansas City Royals on Monday.
Manager Aaron Boone said the decision to scratch his captain from the lineup is about giving him a breather, not only for his play against the Dodgers but for the whole season.
"Obviously, he's playing out of this world but having played every day, getting to this time of year, you're a little bit beat up, too, so I think it's important to give him - especially getting in at 3 in the morning - this was kind of one I had marked down," Boone said before their series opener against the Royals.
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Judge is playing at a high level this season and doing it night in and night out. He played all of the Yankees' 67 games before the Royals assignment.
He is hitting .305 and is the league leader in home runs with 24. He also has an impressive 21 doubles and 59 RBI.
Aaron Judge breaks records in Dodgers game
He has 281 home runs in his nine-year, the most by any player under 1,000 games.
The previous record was held by Ryan Howard, who recorded 279. The Big Piece needed 1,002 games to achieve such a feat, while Judge needed just 992 career games.
Judge has now slashed .399/.520/.957, hit 20 home runs, 15 doubles, and a triple over his last 40 games.
He ended May as the AL Player of the Month after slashing .361/.479/.918 and hitting 14 home runs in 28 games.
He is not satisfied despite his records.
"We've got to keep improving, got to keep making adjustments, and honestly the biggest thing is [to] just keep getting on base," Judge said Sunday.
"Keep getting on base, driving guys in."
No Judge, no problem
Despite Judge not being in the lineup during the opener against the Royals, Boone and Yankees fans have little to worry about.
After missing the Dodgers series, Juan Soto is back in the squad and was assigned as the designated hitter.
Boone explained that they are still cautious about Soto.
"We've just kind of been basing it on how he was coming in each day, where the improvements are, how he's feeling, so hopefully this will kind of get him in and get him back in the outfield hopefully in this series," Boone said.
Soto, who currently has .318 with 17 home runs, 53 RBIs, and a 1.027 OPS, made a good account of himself in his return as a second batter for the team.
He hit singles in his first at-bat, setting the tone for his team for the rest of the game.
Juan Soto with a single. He never lost a beat pic.twitter.com/KzxmdcnJPv
— Yankees Pod 🎧 (@YankeesPod) June 11, 2024
The Yankees remain the league leaders and will play four games against the Royals at Kaufmann Stadium.
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