Even after winning 94 games and just playing in the World Series a year ago, the New York Yankees still had some pretty big flaws and concerns going into the 2025 postseason. Their best player, Aaron Judge, needed to show he could dominate in the playoffs as much as he does in the regular season, and they needed to be able to trust their bullpen and pitching staff.
They can not be feeling very good about any of those narratives following an ugly 10-1 Game 1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS on Saturday.
The Yankees’ big bats went quiet again
Thanks to some clutch pitching performances in the wild-card round, the Yankees were able to get through the Boston Red Sox by coming back to win Games 2 and 3. But it was still a mostly quiet showing from some of their best hitters, including Judge.
While Judge has collected at least two hits in all three playoff games this postseason, he has yet to deliver an extra-base hit. And even worse, he came up small in one of the most pivotal moments of Game 1 on Saturday.
With the Yankees trailing, 2-0, Judge came to bat at the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and nobody out. Not only did he fail to drive in a run, but he also struck out swinging at a potential ball four well out of the strike zone. It was not even a good swing.