"It's huge" - Aaron Judge lauds Oswald Peraza's clutch home run amid 2024 struggles

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge lauded third baseman Oswald Peraza, who homered for the first time this season, in the top of the fifth inning against Detroit's Brant Hurter on Friday. This was Peraza's season debut game after he was called from Triple-A following an injury to Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Peraza's homer gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead. They went on to win 3-0 after adding another run via Judge's homer in the eighth inning. Aaron Judge was happy for Peraza in his post-game interaction.

"It's huge. He's a player I know and saw when he first got called up a couple years ago. It's impressive. He plays great defense, has great at-bats, and we saw the power tonight, but he's another guy that can hit the ball around the field," Judge said.

"Like you said, it hasn't been the year he's probably wanted, but coming up in a moment like that and giving us an extra run is huge."

Peraza's call-up came after he batted well in the minors, hitting .291 with a 1.063 OPS and six homers in his last 15 contests. However, the reason why he only debuted this season was his dismal 2023 season, where he only hit .191/.267/.272 with two homers in 52 games.

His latest homer should ignite some confidence in his batting. and with Chisholm out for some time, he will get the opportunity to turn things around.

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Aaron Judge praised Gerrit Cole's impressive shutout display

MLB: Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees (Source: Imagn

Friday's game against the Tigers saw many upticks for the Yankees. Led by Gerrit Cole, the pitchers shut down the Tigers' offense.

Cole pitched six scoreless innings, including four hits and eight strikeouts. That was further carried by relievers Luke Weaver and Tommy Kahnle, who also put in blanks before closer Clay Holmes got the last three outs.

Cole's pitching spectacle is an addition, as he has only given up three earned runs in his last three starts. Aaron Judge was impressed with Cole's outing and mentioned wanting the pitcher to last nine innings.

"It was impressive, I think, even from the first inning. Just, fastball command was there, Cole was ticking up, and I feel like that slider and curveball has been really sharp his past two outings. So that was impressive to see, and I wish he'd go all nine the way. When he's looking like that, I want him to go all nine innings," Judge said.

Another important uptick was Jose Trevino stealing bases, especially after coming from a quad injury. As far as Aaron Judge is concerned, there's no stopping him, as he added another home run to his major league-leading 44 HRs mark.