WATCH: Aaron Judge's Home Run Ties Yankees with Guardians 2-2 in Game 3
Aaron Judge hit his first home run of the 2022 Major League Baseball postseason Saturday night, cranking a two-run home run to dead center off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
It was Judge's first hit of the postseason and also his first at bat with a runner on base.
After playing his final games of the 2022 regular season batting in the lead-off spot, Judge batted lead-off for the first two games of the American League Division Series.
Through his first two postseason games, Judge was 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone finally dropped Judge in the Yankees lineup to the number two spot for Saturday's game.
The lead-off spot has traditionally been reserved for players to set the table for their team's big bats. New age analytics has caused a shift from the traditional model, as some managers like Boone have placed their best bat in the lead-off spot, in hopes of getting him more at bats in a game.
However, the down side to batting one's best hitter lead-off is he that he will almost certainly see less at bats with runners on base.
Boone's decision to drop Judge paid off Saturday night, as his two-run shot tied game three of the American League Division Series 2-2, after the Guardians took an early 2-0 lead. The series is tied 1-1.
The Guardians plated a run in each of the game's first two innings, thanks to RBI singles from Josh Naylor and Steven Kwan.
If the Guardians are able to win game three, they will have a chance to clinch a trip to the American League Championship Series with a win in front of their fans on Sunday.
