NEW YORK — As Aaron Judge jumped above the wall and tumbled to the turf, Carlos Rodón worried.
“I’m like, `Pplease don’t dive. Please stay on your feet,’” the New York Yankees pitcher said. “Obviously, I wanted him to dive there and he made the play and I’m grateful he got up because that’s a big body.”
Judge made three outstanding catches in right field on Friday night, saving three runs in an 11-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs that extended the New York Yankees’ winning streak to five following a six-game slide. Cody Bellinger hit a trio of two-run homers against his former team.
A two-time MVP at age 33, Judge gets attention for his offense: a major league-best .354 average with 34 homers and 79 RBIs. His defense is just as striking.
The 6-foot-7, 282-pound Judge leaped at the right-field wall to catch a 327-foot drive by Peter Crow-Armstrong against Rodón in the fourth inning, preventing would have been Crow-Armstrong’s 26th home run.
“I think robbing a homer is probably the best, just to keep a run off the board,” Judge said.
When Judge caught the ball, it was about 15 inches over the top of the wall. PCA waved an arm at him in frustration and acknowledgement.
“He knows we work hard for our hits and our homers,” Crow-Armstrong said. “He’s having an unbelievable year and that was me just being like, come on man, like you got to take them away too?”
Judge’s glove avoided the outstretched arms of a fan in a Yankees jersey, who reached over the fence with one hand but missed the ball. After the grab, Judge bowed his head and smiled.
“I’ve hit a couple fans already this year, so I tried to make sure I didn’t get that one,” Judge said.
Two pitches later, Judge rushed in and made a sliding backhand grab on Dansby Swanson’s sinking liner for the third out of the inning. By the mound, Rodón held out his hands while shaking his head in amazement.
With runners at the corners, two outs in the eighth and a full count, Judge sprinted to deny Kyle Tucker of an extra-base hit, catching the ball just before the right-field foul line and sliding on his chest across the warning track. His pinstripes were soiled with dirt when he got up.
“It’s tough, but it’s my job. I got a job to do out there. That’s why they got me playing out there,” he said. “If the ball’s hit in your direction, you got to make a play.”
Judge’s catch caught Aaron Boone’s attention.
“My first thought was a little nervous, just going over there and sliding on the dirt pretty hard, like making sure the big guy was OK,” the manager said.
Judge doesn’t think about sprained right big toe sustained when he ran into the Dodger Stadium fence on June 3, 2023, causing him to miss 42 games and hit far from his standard when he returned.
“That was kind of a freak thing,” Judge said. “You can’t let it hold me back.”
He took time after his last catch to gain his composure.
“I felt like I was running a mile to get to that ball,” he said. “I don’t think I’m getting older but sometimes it feels like it after it catches like that.”
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