NEW YORK — As the New York Yankees seek their 28th championship, they find themselves on the brink of being swept in the World Series for only the fourth time in franchise history. The Yankees faced off against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night but fell short with a 4-2 loss, which puts them down 3-0 in the series.
Aaron Judge continues to struggle significantly at the plate, managing just one hit in 12 at-bats in the Series (.083), along with seven strikeouts and no runs batted in. This postseason, his performance has been equally disappointing, as he has only a .140 batting average with a staggering 20 strikeouts. Career-wise in the postseason, Judge holds a .196 average, with 15 home runs, 31 RBIs, and 86 strikeouts.
Manager Aaron Boone addressed Judge’s current slump, stating, “Come ready to go tomorrow. He’s Aaron Judge, and just continue to work and hopefully get on time and connect on some.” The team’s overall offense has also been lackluster, with just nine hits recorded in the last two games, and a mere three being extra-base hits. On Monday, the Yankees also tallied 11 strikeouts, four of which were called third strikes.
The struggles extend to New York’s bottom four hitters, who have collectively managed only six hits in 43 at-bats with three RBIs. Notably, Alex Verdugo’s two-run homer in the ninth inning was a late highlight, yet Yankees players are hitting only 4 for 20 with runners positioned to score. Boone emphasized the importance of capitalizing on scoring chances, saying, “When you do get those opportunities, they’re not as frequent as maybe sometimes during the season, you’ve got to take advantage of it.”
The team appears to mirror the struggles they faced during a rough stretch from mid-June to late July, rather than the version that started the season with a 50-22 record and subsequently won the AL East. Historically, the Yankees have only been swept in the World Series three times—by the 1922 New York Giants, 1963 Dodgers, and 1976 Reds.
Boone remains hopeful, stating, “Hopefully, we can go be this amazing story and shock the world. But right now, it’s about trying to get a lead, trying to grab a game, and force another one, and then on from there. But we’ve got to grab one first.”
Since their 1981 Series win over the Dodgers, where they took the first two games, the Yankees have endured a seven-game losing streak against Los Angeles in World Series play. They were also close to winning the opening game, which went into extra innings, but have since been outscored 12-4.
In terms of pitching, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt managed a combined six innings in Games 2 and 3, further highlighting the team’s current struggles as they look to turn the series around.