Aaron Judge, the Yankees’ young superstar slugger and potential MVP, had been having a pretty worthless postseason at the plate. Despite his team’s success, Judge only notched one hit in the entire ALDS, and he’s been mostly anonymous against Houston, only coming out of his shell for a home run in Game 3 when his team was already winning 5-0.
The dong, however, served as a preview for his Game 4 heroics. Tonight, Judge finally made his mark. With his team losing 4-0, and staring down a potential 3-1 ALCS deficit, the youthful stud got his team on the board in the seventh with the kind of moonshot that’s made him so famous.
At the time, though, the dinger didn’t seem like much, as the Yanks were still trailing 4-1. But then Didi Gregorious and Gary Sanchez combined to add another run, and hell broke loose in the next inning. The Bronx Bombers opened the eighth with two hits and a fielder’s choice, which put Judge at the plate with a man on third and his team down one. Given a golden opportunity, Judge lifted the ball as far as he could to left without actually knocking another dong, tying the game in style.
The Yankees finished with four runs in that inning, and Aroldis Chapman shut down the Astros in the ninth to seal a 6-4 win. Aaron Judge has 22 strikeouts this postseason, and he’s been held hitless in half his playoff games, but none of that matters now. The series is now tied at two, and the star has had his unforgettable moment.