JUDGE HAS FAN IN TITO
CLEVELAND — The praise for Aaron Judge keeps on coming. This time it was from Indians manager Terry Francona, who is already deep in preparation for the Yankees’ 25-year-old rookie slugger. Game 1 of the ALDS is Thursday night at Progressive Field.
“He’s good for Major League Baseball. He’s bad for the teams you’re playing against,” Francona said on Wednesday. “He’s really good. From all accounts, he’s a really special young man. I didn’t get a chance to meet him at the AllStar game because I wasn’t there, but everyone came back raving about him as a person. I know, if you throw it in the wrong place, he’s going to hit it a long way.
“So we spent a lot of time on him today, just because he’s so dangerous. But I think as far as the game goes, I think he’s really good for the game. When you have young players that are good and seem to behave and act with a lot of respect like he does, it’s really good for the game.”
Judge, who had 52 homers, 114 RBI and a 1.049 OPS during the regular season, is coming off a strong playoff debut in which he had a pair of hits – including a two-run homer – during Tuesday’s AL wild-card win over Minnesota. He admitted he was nervous before the game, but it certainly didn’t show once things got underway. Judge’s first-inning single set up Didi Gregorius’ game-tying three-run homer. Later, he lined a two-run shot to give the Bombers a 7-4 lead.
“I was feeding off the crowd all night,” Judge said. Francona did not get to manage Judge at the All-Star game because he was undergoing a heart procedure. Judge went 4-for14 with a homer against the Tribe during the regular season.
The Yankees, though, aren’t just a one-man show. Brett Gardner (2-for-4 with a homer) set the tone for the top of the order, as the first four batters – including Judge, Gary Sanchez and Gregorius – combined to go 7-for-15 with three homers, six RBI, a double, three walks and scored all eight of their team’s runs. “They’ve got a lot of guys that hit for power,” said Cleveland’s Game 1 starter, Trevor Bauer. “They’ve got some scrappy guys that put the ball in play, and they run. Some veteran guys, some leadership. “Didi had a really good year. He can run a little bit, puts the ball in play, and has power. Gardner puts the ball in play, steals bags, is a tough at-bat, and takes a lot of pitches. “So I think it’s very well-balanced. It’s not like they have one type of hitter. So you have to be able to do a bunch of different things as a starting pitcher to be able to handle all the different types of hitters they have.”