ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — This could get awkward.
Though on an historic home run pace, Aaron Judge has made it clear the only number he’s currently interested in is the one in the wins column.
He said it after he hit his 50th homer, and again after No. 51, both times in front of significantly more reporters and additional camera crews than on a typical Yankees road trip.
Judge’s discomfort in talking about his home run chase will likely only grow if another number — the Yankees’ lead in the division — continues to drop.
What’s been a mostly positive year could get rough down the stretch, and force the Yankees to face their only real adversity of the season all while Judge closes in first on Babe Ruth’s iconic 60 home run mark, and then Roger Maris’ American League and franchise record of 61, which is still considered by some to be the legitimate major league record.
The Yankees have relied on Judge throughout the season, and never more so than recently, as just about the entire rest of the lineup has either gotten hurt, started slumping, or both.
But Judge keeps hitting.
Although he tallied “just” nine home runs in August — his second-lowest total of the season — Judge still compiled an OPS of 1.104, second only to the 1.253 mark he put up in July. And while his OPS in the final month of the season has been his lowest over the course of his career, it’s still a robust .926.
His remarkable consistency when healthy — especially this season — is one of the reasons Judge is a threat to challenge Maris’ record. But the pressure to keep hitting is only going to intensify the longer the Yankees offense remains in a prolonged funk, one that has seen them go 13-13 in July and then 10-18 in August.
It’s why the Yankees, who were drawing comparisons to some of the best teams in baseball history through the middle of the season, are now tasked with trying to hold off the Rays — a team that has frequently had their way with the Yankees in recent seasons.
And it’s also why these next few weeks will test Judge under a spotlight he hasn’t quite faced before, with history and the team’s postseason hopes debated with every at-bat, starting this weekend at Tampa Bay.
Playing the schedule game
Speaking of the AL East race, the Yankees entered their weekend series with the Rays with a six-game lead over Tampa, and what should be an advantage when it comes to the schedule.
Beginning with Friday, the Yankees have six games left against the Rays, three each versus Toronto, Baltimore and Milwaukee — all of whom are still at least in the hunt for a wild card spot.
But they also get six games against last-place Boston and two with the dreadful Pirates before finishing the season with four games in Texas against the Rangers, who have been a colossal disappointment.
Tampa Bay has six games each with the first-place Yankees and Astros, nine with wild-card-hunting Toronto and three with AL Central-leading Cleveland. Their only potential breaks come against Boston (six games) and the Rangers (three).
It’s why the website Tankathon.com says the Rays have the third-hardest strength of schedule the rest of the way, while the Yankees are in the middle of the pack at 15th.
Those stats, though, don’t completely take into account the fact the Yankees are limping through the second half, with injuries and underperformance rampant through the roster.
Come back soon
When Matt Carpenter fouled a ball off his left foot in Seattle on Aug. 8, it was clear it would have an impact on the offense.
But his absence has been felt more than could have even been predicted.
In the game in which Carpenter fractured his left foot, the Yankees would score nine runs for a second straight day.
Since then, they’ve scored more than four runs in a nine-inning game just twice. They’ve been shut out four times in the 21-game stretch, during which they’ve gone 8-13 and seen their lead in the AL East drop from 10 1/2 games to six.
Through Thursday, Carpenter’s OPS of 1.138 remains the highest on the team and he still has more homers (15) than Josh Donaldson (12) despite playing in less than half as many games.
Carpenter was confident at the time of the injury that he’d be back in time for the stretch run and the playoffs, but he has yet to receive his follow-up X-ray to see when he will be able to start putting weight on the foot.
With the way the Yankees’ offense has looked without him, they’d better hope that day comes soon.
A man of many talents
Oswaldo Cabrera is the first Yankee to start at four different positions (second base, third, shortstop and right field) in his first six career games. But according to Elias, that type of versatility isn’t all that uncommon these days.
There have been two other players this season who have also started their MLB careers by starting at four spots in their first six games: Brendan Donovan of the Cardinals played first base, second, third and shortstop; Christopher Morel of the Cubs played second, third, short and center field.
And just for the heck of it, San Diego’s Matthew Batten started at second, third and left — and also came into pitch.
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