Aaron Judge Delivers First Career Walk-Off As Yankees Sweep White Sox in Dramatic Fashion

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge delivers the first walk-off of his career, helping the Yankees sweep the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium

NEW YORK — For a moment in the ninth inning on Sunday, a sweep of the visiting White Sox looked like it was in jeopardy for those in pinstripes.

A rally in the ninth and a walk-off walk from Aaron Judge, however, clinched a 5-4 win for New York, their sixth victory in a row. 

The only reason New York needed to bat in the bottom of the ninth was closer Aroldis Chapman's blown save in the top of the frame.

Chapman hadn't allowed a run in 18 innings this season entering play on Sunday. Coming off the bench, Andrew Vaughn clobbered a solo home run over the Yankees' bullpen in right-center field to tie the game at four apiece. 

The blown save didn't deter the Bombers from securing the victory, though.

A leadoff single from Clint Frazier, off left-hander Aaron Bummer, set the tone in the ninth. Frazier went on to steal second base before Chicago elected to intentionally walk DJ LeMahieu with one out.

Next, Tyler Wade—who came into the game earlier as a defensive replacement—beat out an infield single to load the bases. That forced Chicago's manager Tony La Russa to bring on his closer, Liam Hendriks, with the game on the line. 

Hendriks threw five pitches to Judge. None of them were near the strike zone. 

Aaron Judge delivers a walk-off walk.

The fans in the Bronx love it as the #Yankees have now won six in a row. pic.twitter.com/hTjBIORlOa

— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) May 23, 2021

An emergency hack on the first pitch of the at-bat put Judge in a hole, but Hendriks missed badly on his next four offerings. 

"That's who we want up," manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "Obviously tough matchup with Hendriks, bringing in their closer in that spot and fortunately the first pitch didn't get him out of rhythm. I think it settled him in a little bit and then he's obviously able to control the zone there and get us out with a win and a really, really good start to this homestand."

Judge will have to wait a little longer for the first walk-off hit of his big-league career, but in this situation, the free pass was all New York needed to get the job done. After the game, the slugger said he won't be complaining about the game-winning walk, even if he never envisioned his first walk-off transpiring in this fashion.

"I gotta get the ball," Judge said, recalling a slew of more traditional walk-offs in the minor leagues. "I think it was my first walk walk-off. So I haven't done that yet. I'll keep that ball for sure."

The #Yankees are ...

- on a six-game winning streak
- winners in 22 of their last 30 games
- undefeated in their last 10 series
- a season-high nine-games over .500 (28-19)

— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) May 23, 2021

This series against Chicago was viewed as a litmus test of sorts for the Yankees during this hot stretch. New York has been on a roll, but faced clubs like the Orioles and Rangers over this past week. 

Chicago mustered just five runs over three games in the Bronx, losing all three. 

"I think it goes to show that early in the season a lot of people were panicking, but we weren't," Frazier said. "This series and the last I don't know how many we've won in a row are a great example of what this team is capable of. Sometimes you just got to be patient, you get the results that we're having right now.

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