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Aaron Judge had an off night during the New York Yankees' game against the New York Mets on Tuesday. The Yankees captain could barely connect with the bat but that was also due to a shrewd tactic used by the opposition.
The Yankees fell for the third straight game against their cross-town rivals. They fielded an unusual lineup during the game with Jahmai Jones as the leadoff hitter and J.D. Davis at the cleanup spot. They were sandwiched between Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.
Knowing the Yankees lineup beyond Aaron Judge consisting of Davis and others like Anthony Volpe, and Gleyber Torres was the weak link, the Mets chose to walk Judge in multiple at-bats.
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They didn't give him anything in his arc with the 32-year-old facing just two strikes in his first three appearances at the plate, resulting in walks. In the seventh innings, Carlos Mendoza intentionally walked him with one out before Judge finally struck out looking in the ninth.
Recognizing the tactic, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said they expect teams to come up with such plans. But the middle of the batting order needs to be a formidable force so that Judge can score without being walked.
"We have seen that, some teams take that approach," Boone said. "We just gotta get that middle of the order more settled here and that will, in the coming days, change the equation a little bit... hopefully that will come back to bite teams when they do it, and force them to go after Aaron."
Mets win against Yankees despite flight delay before game
The Mets players hardly had any sleep before their game at the Yankee Stadium. After their win against the Marlins on Sunday night, the Mets got a 2.5-hour delayed flight out of Miami. Some players got home at around 7 a.m.
Even after going through such a mishap, the team got past the Yankees in the series opener. With the last game of the Subway Series coming up, the Mets will believe they have the momentum to sweep their city rivals.
