MLB

Aaron Judge held without home run as Yankees fall to Orioles

The Aaron Judge home run watch came back to The Bronx, but Yankees fans didn’t get to see what they came for in a 2-1 loss to the Orioles on Friday night. 

The Yankees have clinched the AL East and the second seed in the American League, so the result of the game was largely unimportant to the sellout crowd of 47,583 on a chilly night at Yankee Stadium — when Judge was held in the ballpark. 

He struck out in the first inning, singled in the third and walked again in the sixth before coming up again in the eighth with Isiah Kiner-Falefa on second — thanks to a stolen base — and one out. 

With the count 1-0, right-hander Felix Bautista appeared to hurt his foot on his second pitch to Judge. 

After a brief visit from trainers and some warm-up pitches — which were met with boos from the crowd — Bautista threw another ball before Judge was walked intentionally. 

Aaron Judge reacts after striking out during the first inning against the Orioles Friday night at Yankee Stadium. USA TODAY Sports
Orioles starting pitcher Jordan Lyles struck out nine and gave up just one run on four hits over seven innings Friday night. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Judge now has two more home games to break Roger Maris’ American League and franchise record with his 62nd home run before the Yankees finish the regular season with a four-game series at Texas next week. 

Asked about the Kiner-Falefa stolen base and how it might have impacted Judge’s final at-bat, manager Aaron Boone said, “We’re gonna play to win the game.” 

But he added he “considered holding [Kiner-Falefa] there,” since the stolen base increased the chances of a Judge walk. 

“But I also think they were going after him there,’’ Boone said. “At 3-0, that changed.” 

Still, Boone had no second thoughts, even referencing former Jets head coach Herm Edwards. 

“What did Herm say? ‘You play to win the game,’ ” Boone said. “We’re gonna do that. We all want to see [Judge] do it. I think they tried to attack him within the context of the game. We’re always striking that balance.” 

Aaron Judge’s pursuit of home run No. 62 will have to wait another day. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

The Yankees, who clinched the division in Toronto on Tuesday, had won nine of their previous 10 games. 

Domingo German — looking to cement a spot on the playoff roster, likely in the bullpen — walked Cedric Mullins to start the game. Mullins stole second and got to third on Jose Trevino’s throwing error, although Gleyber Torres should have blocked the ball. 

Mullins scored on Ryan Mountcastle’s single to left for the game’s first run. 

German pitched around a leadoff double by Austin Hays in the second, and went on to retire 12 in a row. 

The Yankees got just a pair of singles off right-hander Jordan Lyles until the bottom of the fifth, when Oswaldo Cabrera led off with a homer to right-center. 

It was Cabrera’s fifth home run of the season and tied the score at 1-1. 

Baltimore went ahead again in the sixth, thanks to another rough outing from Zack Britton, who left the game with what the Yankees called “left arm fatigue.” 

German walked the first two batters of the inning before getting Ryan Mountcastle on a comebacker. 

Zack Britton exits in the sixth inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Britton then entered for his third appearance since returning to action after UCL surgery from last year and walked Gunnar Henderson to load the bases. Facing pinch-hitter Jesus Aguilar, Britton sailed a wild pitch to the backstop that allowed Adley Rutschman to score from third. Britton failed to cover home on the play. 

After that pitch, Britton was visited by manager Aaron Boone and a trainer before being removed from the game. 

Ron Marincaccio came in and got out of the inning without further damage. 

Judge and the Yankees are set to face right-hander Austin Voth on Saturday. There is inclement weather in the forecast, however, as Judge’s attempt to become the first Yankee to hit 62 home runs continues.