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Aaron Judge wakes up with big 2-run HR in the 1st inning of World Series Game 5

Posted on by Pranco
Aaron Judge wakes up with big 2-run HR in the 1st inning of World Series Game 5

Aaron Judge admires a home run

Aaron Judge’s long slumber appears to be over.

New York Yankees slugger Judge finally gave his team’s fans what they were looking for on Wednesday during Game 5 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Judge came to bat in the first inning with one on and one out and ambushed a fastball off the first pitch of Dodgers righty Jack Flaherty. The poor ballplayer didn’t stand a chance, ending up in another zip code for a towering two-run home run by Judge that sent the Yankee Stadium crowd into delirium.

Here’s the video.

Flaherty’s misery that inning didn’t end there either, as the next batter, Jazz Chisholm Jr., also took him deep to give the Yankees an early 3-0 lead.

Much has been made of likely AL MVP Judge’s struggles this postseason, and rightfully so. After a regular season in which he hit .322 with 58 home runs and 144 RBIs, he came into play Wednesday and hit an atrocious .198 in the 2024 playoffs with 20 strikeouts in 59 at-bats. Judge had not gotten an extra base hit since Game 3 of the ALCS against Cleveland, and there were even calls from Yankees fans for the team to drop Judge in the batting order during the World Series.

But Judge, who also hadn’t been given many pitches to hit this postseason, finally got a meaty fastball right in the heart of Flaherty’s plate and took full advantage. While it certainly took a long time for Judge to appear, perhaps this is what he meant back in August when he said you’d know once he was finally locked up.