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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 22: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on after grounding out during the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on May 22, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
On Friday night, the New York Yankees hosted the Tampa Bay Rays in the Bronx for the first game of their series.
The Yankees lost by a score of 4-2.
Aaron Judge had another tough night, finishing with one walk, one strikeout (and no hits).
Paul O’Neill Makes Judge Statement
GettyOutfielder Paul O”Neill #21 of the New York Yankees getting ready to bat during the Spring Training game against the Kansas City Royals at the Baseball City Stadium in Davenport, Florida. The Royals defeated the Yankees 9-1.
Before Friday’s game, Yankees legend Paul O’Neill spoke about Judge (via YES Network).
O’Neill: “Aaron Judge is going through a little tough time right now… Some of your offense has to pick it up… Aaron Judge can’t be your guy every single day… Aaron Judge is a power hitter, so they’re gonna pitch around him at times… Every once in a while as a hitter, when you start to feel like you haven’t done things in a while, you try to force it a little bit… There’s eight other guys out there, it can’t always be Aaron Judge. Over a long course of a season, you need help.”
.@PaulONeillYES joins @M_Marakovits to discuss Gerrit Cole’s season debut, his keys against Tampa Bay & the Yankees’ offensive struggles.
Judge is currently batting .245 with 46 hits, 16 home runs, 30 RBI’s, 40 runs and five stolen bases in his first 52 games.
The future Hall of Famer is in his 11th season (all with the Yankees).
Social Media Reacts To Judge’s Struggles
GettyAaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on after striking out during the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on May 22, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Here’s what people were saying about Judge:
@TalkinYanks: “Aaron Judge is 4-for-35 in the last nine games Judge’s .348 OPS in 40 plate appearances during those nine games is the worst stretch of his career over 40 plate appearances”
@SharpStats17: “Aaron Judge has now gone 11 straight games without an RBI. That’s the longest such streak of his career”
@JayNukesBack: “Aaron judge can’t get a simple base hit ? This like 4 games in a row now”
@301RandyP: “Aaron Judge has been awful at the plate for like 2 weeks smh”
GettyAaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees reacts after striking out during the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on May 20, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Blue Jays won 2-1.
Yankees After Loss To Rays
The Yankees are 30-22 in 52 games, which has them as the second-place team in the American League East.
They are 5.5 games back of the Rays for first.
Over their last ten games, the Yankees have gone just 4-6.
Ben Stinar Ben Stinar has been covering the NBA for over seven years. He has written for OnSI, Forbes, Amico Hoops, The Big Lead and had a podcast with former All-Star Jameer Nelson. More about Ben Stinar