New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge acknowledged his team is in a big hole amid its 3-0 World Series deficit following a Game 3 loss at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“We all know what’s at stake,” Judge said postgame after Monday’s 4-2 loss, per SNY. “We all know our backs are up against the wall. We gotta get it going our way, that’s what it comes down to.
“We got a lot of veteran guys in here that have been there, done that before, so we just gotta lean on each other, keep playing the game we played all year long that got us in this position. It just takes one game.”
Judge added the Yankees’ focus should be taking the best-of-seven series one game at a time moving forward if the club has any shot of making a historic comeback.
“In our heads, it’s to win one game,” the six-time All-Star said. “That’s how it starts. Even though we’re down 3-0, we win one game, and you never know what’s gonna happen in the next couple.”
Judge, who’s the favorite to win his second AL MVP award in three years, has struggled mightily in the playoffs after going deep an MLB-best 58 times with a jaw-dropping 1.159 OPS during the regular season.
The 32-year-old is slashing .140/.278/.302 with two homers, six RBIs, and 20 strikeouts over 12 games in October. He’s gone 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts in the World Series and now sports a career .196 batting average over 252 plate appearances in the postseason.
“Yeah, definitely,” Judge said when asked if he feels like he’s letting the team down. “You want to be getting the hits, you want to be going out there and doing your job. I’m not doing my job right now, I gotta pick it up.”
No team in MLB history has ever erased a 3-0 World Series deficit to win a title. The 2004 Boston Red Sox are the only club to accomplish the feat outside of the Fall Classic when they famously stunned the Yankees in the ALCS that season.
