Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has done some good for the Yankees this postseason, including hitting a home run and robbing a home run, but what he’s done a lot of is strike out. Entering Wednesday’s ALDS Game 5 against the Indians, Judge had struck out 12 times in 19 plate appearances. That’s a 63 percent K-rate, which eclipsed his 30.7 percent regular season K-rate.
Judge struck out two more times in his first two at-bats against Indians starter Corey Kluber in Game 5, running his ALDS total up to 14. In doing so, he set a record for the most strikeouts by one player in a single postseason series, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports.
As mentioned earlier, Judge isn’t the only one striking out a lot, but he does lead the way as the only player this postseason with multiple four-strikeout games (he has two).
The Yankees currently lead Game 5 3-0 after four innings, so they look poised to advance to the ALCS even without Judge performing at peak levels.
Update: Judge struck out again in the fifth inning against Andrew Miller. That’s 15 strikeouts in 22 plate appearances in the ALDS. He’s one strikeout away from another golden sombrero.
Update #2: Judge struck out looking in the seventh, giving him his third golden sombrero this postseason. He’s the only player since 1903 with three four-strikeout games in a single postseason, per baseball Reference. Judge is also now up to 16 strikeouts in 23 ALDS plate appearances.
