LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Judge is spiraling deeper into a disastrous postseason slump, and New York Yankees‘ The championship chances are decreasing with him.

The Yankees’ superstar slugger went 1 for 9 with six strikeouts in the first two World Series games at Dodger Stadium, setting New York’s offense back in two losses to Los Angeles.

The umpire was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in Game 2 on Saturday night. He had difficulty even making contact with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the rescuer. Blake Trenenwho admired him Juan Soto He’s on second base in the first of the ninth inning in the Dodgers’ 4-2 win.

The umpire swung and missed six times in his four at-bats in Game 2. The entire Dodgers roster has only done this 12 times.

Judge will likely win his second American League MVP award after the season ends, but no one has any ideas of an October hero.

He went 6-for-40 with two homers and 19 strikeouts in those playoffs and had all six of his RBIs during the three-game stretch in the AL Championship Series. He is 8/8 with runners in scoring position and has struck out just once in his last 22 at-bats, a holdover from seasons past.

This is nothing new for one of the game’s best hitters from April through September: Judge’s career postseason average dropped to .199 as the series shifted to Yankee Stadium.

Nothing in this pivotal World Series matchup was more intriguing than the matchup between Judge and Judge. Shohei OhtaniThe two most dangerous sluggers in baseball.

But in the meantime Giancarlo Stanton And Freddie Freeman He made memorable carries in the first two games, with two big names hitting a full blowout between them — and then Ohtani injured his left arm while sliding in the seventh inning of Game 2, putting his status for the Bronx in doubt.

Ohtani doubled off the wall and scored the tying run in the eighth inning of Game 1, but the two-way superstar was 1-for-8 with a walk and two strikeouts in the first two games and repeatedly struck out early in the count. .

The referee made it 1 to 5 in the 1st game. Jack Flaherty He struck out him in his first three at-bats. His only hit was a solid two-out single to center in the seventh, but Stanton couldn’t advance it.

He then struck out with two Yankees to end the ninth inning, failing to get through a situation tailor-made for postseason heroics. Worse, the Dodgers walked Juan Soto To reach the Judge who couldn’t repay them.

Judge is in his first postseason upset since signing a nine-year, $360 million contract after setting an AL record with 62 homers in 2022 and beating out Ohtani for the AL MVP award. New York missed the postseason last fall.

Judge led the majors with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and a 1.159 OPS this season. He batted .322 and drove in 122 runs, leading the Yankees to the AL East title despite enduring a 16-game career-long home run drought that spanned August and September.

The 6-foot-11 referee’s powerful shot has been erratic and inaccurate lately, but he has appeared to become more efficient in recent weeks. He still swings and misses at an alarming rate, including a poor hit by Yamamoto on a slider down the zone in the first inning of Game 2. He often gets out in front of breaking pitches and behind on fastballs.

He flied out to right to end the third inning, and Yamamoto hit him once more to end the fifth inning, with Judge attacking a diving low splitter toward him.

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