Inside The Pinstripes

Aaron Judge Reveals Yankees' Mindset Entering Game 4, One Loss From ALDS Elimination

After a walk-off loss in Game 3, Aaron Judge made it clear this Yankees club is still confident, even with their backs against the wall.

Max Goodman

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CLEVELAND — After 99 wins in the regular season, a division title and a barrage of historic performances, the Yankees are now one loss away from packing their bags and beginning the offseason.

New York is on the brink of elimination in the American League Division Series, losing each of their last two games against the Guardians. 

After a series-opening victory, Cleveland jumped in front in Game 2 with two runs in the top of the 10th inning at Yankee Stadium. In Game 3, on Saturday night at Progressive Field, the Guardians scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth including a walk-off, two-run single while down to their final strike. 

Now, New York will turn to their ace, Gerrit Cole, in a win-or-go-home Game 4 on Sunday night. 

"He's our ace. He's pitched in big games for us," Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge said Saturday night. "He always goes out there with intensity and we're gonna match his energy and go out there and take us back to the Bronx."

Judge added that New York's mindset for Game 4, with their backs against the wall, is simple. This club has dealt with adversity throughout this season, so this is nothing new. 

"We have guys in this room that have played in a lot of elimination games, a lot of games where the season is on the line," Judge explained. "We just can't look into it too much, learn from the mistakes and bring the energy tomorrow. Simple as that. We can't sit here and sulk on it."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone maintained his positive outlook as well. While he admitted Saturday's result was "gut-wrenching," walking through his controversial decision while managing his bullpen in the ninth inning on Saturday, the skipper assured he's confident with Cole on the bump.

It's time to take care of business. Otherwise, they're going home.

"It stings right now and it's raw. You're frustrated because you're so close to the end there, but we got to turn the page," Boone said. "It's not allowed to be the case. We got to come out here. We got Gerrit going tomorrow. We expect to come out here and win."

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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