Judge’s HR fuels Yanks: ‘Ghosts were pulling’ to CF
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
NEW YORK — Aaron Judge, the best hitter on the planet, finally looked the part in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. Five postseason games of struggles gave way to one giant swing Tuesday night, when Judge’s two-run home run capped a 6-3 win that gave the New York Yankees a 2-0 series lead against the Cleveland Guardians.
While the Yankees scored three early runs to capitalize on sloppy play from the typically tidy Guardians, Judge’s home run — a 414-foot blast to center field off Cleveland reliever Hunter Gaddis in the seventh inning — energized the crowd of 47,054 at Yankee Stadium and served as a reminder that the future AL MVP is more than capable of providing memorable October moments.
“You never know on these windy, chilly nights what that ball is going to do when you hit the center here,” Judge said, “but the ghosts were pulling out there to Monument Park, that’s for sure.”
The Yankees had won four of their first five playoff games with little production from their captain. While Judge did walk five times, he had managed only two hits in 15 at-bats this postseason before Tuesday. In one night, he tripled his previous RBI output, and a three-hit night from Gleyber Torres and five hits from the bottom three in the lineup made up for a substandard outing from Gerrit Cole.
In a game that featured a pair of errors from Cleveland, two awful baserunning mistakes in the same inning from New York, and a combined 2-for-17 effort with runners in scoring position, the Yankees cobbled together enough offense and made pitches at opportune times.
They scored in the first after shortstop Brayan Rocchio dropped a sky-high pop-up from Judge that allowed Torres to score and added a pair of runs in the second off Guardians starter Tanner Bibee, who lasted only 1.1 innings and allowed five hits. Cleveland fireman Cade Smith inherited a bases-loaded jam in the second after manager Stephen Vogt intentionally walked Juan Soto to load the bases and face Judge, whose sacrifice fly extended New York’s lead to 3-0.
Cole, the Yankees’ ace who clinched a division-series win against Kansas City in his last start, struggled with his control, allowing 10 baserunners over 4.1 innings. He left with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, and reliever Clay Holmes allowed one run to score via a force out before striking out Austin Hedges to end the threat.
“We had traffic all night tonight,” Vogt said. “We do what we do. We get on base and make things happen. We just didn’t get a big hit with runners in scoring position tonight. We’re one swing of the bat away from taking the lead in that game. We’re one swing of the bat from being right back in it. That is who we are. We don’t quit. We just need to keep being us.”
As the series heads to Cleveland for at least two and potentially three games, who the Guardians have been isn’t enough. New York tacked on another run in the sixth, when Anthony Rizzo — in his second game back after he broke two fingers Sept. 28 — doubled in shortstop Anthony Volpe. Both finished the game with a pair of hits ahead of No. 9 hitter Alex Verdugo, who drove in a run with double.
“Our bottom of the order could be the top of our order,” Rizzo said. “Our top of the order is so potent and so good. We know our role down at the bottom. We just want to get it to the next guy, get it to the next guy, and that’s been our mentality.”
Torres’ third hit of the night helped get it to Judge in the seventh, when he ambushed a high, 95 mph fastball from Gaddis. Only once this season had Gaddis allowed a home run on a top-of-the-zone fastball, but then no hitter in the game is capable of doing damage like Judge, who finished the season hitting .322/.458/.701 with 58 home runs and 144 RBIs.
“I’ve been booed here plenty of times. There’s been a lot of legends that played here that have been booed. It’s just part of it. You can’t focus on that. You’ve got to go out there. They want to see you win. They want to see you do well. You’ve just got to focus on what you can control. What I can control is what I do in the box and what I do on the field.”
Aaron Judge
“The preparation he does, who he is as a person, who he is as a teammate, it’s so easy to root for him,” Rizzo said. “In these games, it really doesn’t matter who it is, how excited we are for everyone, but when Aaron does stuff, it’s extra special just because he’s such a special human being.”
Judge’s postseason issues had been minimized because his teammates had played so well in the previous five games. He never wavered from his approach, which sounds simple and cliched — take things one at-bat at a time — but has led to historic results. Though his career postseason numbers pale to those in the regular season, Judge continued to tune out any naysayers.
“I’ve been booed here plenty of times,” he said. “There’s been a lot of legends that played here that have been booed. It’s just part of it. You can’t focus on that. You’ve got to go out there. They want to see you win. They want to see you do well. You’ve just got to focus on what you can control. What I can control is what I do in the box and what I do on the field.”
What he did on the field Tuesday was far more in line with what Judge expects of himself. And when closer Luke Weaver finished out the game after allowing a ninth-inning home run to Jose Ramirez, it reinforced that these Yankees might be cut from a different cloth than those of recent vintage.
“This is a really good baseball team we’re playing,” Vogt said. “We’ve known that all year. We know we have our work cut out for us, but that’s who we are. We thrive under this, and we’re going to be ready to go.”
The first 12-team College Football Playoff is down to the final two contenders: Notre Dame and Ohio State.
The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish and eighth-seeded Buckeyes will meet Jan. 20 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T. Whichever team wins will end a championship drought. Notre Dame aims for its first title since 1988. Ohio State’s lull isn’t nearly as long, as the Buckeyes won the first CFP championship a decade ago, but given how consistently elite they are, it seems like a while.
Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Ohio State’s Ryan Day are also aiming for their first championships as head coaches, and Freeman’s past will be in the spotlight. Freeman and the Irish lost to the Buckeyes and Day in each of the past two seasons. But after a masterful coaching job this season, Freeman now will face his alma mater — he was an All-Big Ten linebacker for Ohio State under coach Jim Tressel — with everything on the line. Day, meanwhile, can secure the loftiest goal for a team that fell short of earlier ones, but never stopped swinging.
Here’s your first look at the championship matchup and what to expect in the ATL. — Adam Rittenberg
When: Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN
What we learned in the semifinal: Notre Dame’s resilience and situational awareness/execution are undeniably its signature traits and could propel the team to a title. The Irish have overcome injuries all season and did so again against Penn State. They also erased two deficits and continued to hold the edge in the “middle eight” — the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half — while dominating third down on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame can rely on front men such as quarterback Riley Leonard, running back Jeremiyah Love and linebacker Jack Kiser, but also on backup QB Steve Angeli, wide receiver Jaden Greathouse and kicker Mitch Jeter. These Irish fight, and they’re very hard to knock out.
X factor: Greathouse entered Thursday with moderate numbers — 29 receptions, 359 yards, one touchdown — and had only three total catches for 14 yards in the first two CFP games. But he recorded career highs in both receptions (7) and receiving yards (105) and tied the score on a 54-yard touchdown with 4:38 to play. A Notre Dame offense looking for more from its wide receivers, especially downfield, could lean more on Greathouse, who exceeded his receptions total from the previous five games but might be finding his groove at the perfect time. He also came up huge in the clutch, recording all but six of his receiving yards in the second half.
How Notre Dame wins: The Irish won’t have the talent edge in Atlanta, partly because they’ve lost several stars to season-ending injuries, but they have the right traits to hang with any opponent. Notre Dame needs contributions in all three phases and must continue to sprinkle in downfield passes, an element offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has pushed. And they finally did start seeing results against Penn State. The Irish likely can’t afford to lose the turnover margin, although they can help themselves by replicating their third-down brilliance — 11 of 17 conversions on offense, 3 of 11 conversions allowed on defense — from the Penn State win. — Rittenberg
What we learned in the semifinal: The Buckeyes have a defense with championship mettle, headlined by senior defensive end Jack Sawyer, who delivered one of the biggest defensive plays in Ohio State history. On fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes remaining, Sawyer sacked Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, forcing a fumble that he scooped up and raced 83 yards for a game-clinching touchdown, propelling Ohio State to the national title game. The Buckeyes weren’t perfect in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and they struggled offensively for much of the night against a talented Texas defense. But Ohio State showed late why its defense is arguably the best in college football, too.
X factor: The play two snaps before the Sawyer scoop-and-score set the table. On second-and-goal from the Ohio State 1-yard line, unheralded senior safety Lathan Ransom dashed past incoming blockers and dropped Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner for a 7-yard loss. After an incomplete pass, the Longhorns were forced into desperation mode on fourth-and-goal down a touchdown with just over two minutes remaining. All-American safety Caleb Downs, who had an interception on Texas’ ensuing drive, rightfully gets all the headlines for the Ohio State secondary. But the Buckeyes have other veteran standouts such as Ransom throughout their defense.
How Ohio State wins: Texas took away Ohio State’s top offensive playmaker, true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who had only one reception for 3 yards on three targets. As the first two playoff games underscored, the Buckeyes offense is at its best when Smith gets the ball early and often. Notre Dame is sure to emulate the Texas blueprint, positioning the defensive backs to challenge Smith. Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has to counter with a plan that finds ways to get the ball into Smith’s hands, no matter what the Fighting Irish do. — Jake Trotter
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Doug Greenberg, ESPN
Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, per ESPN BET odds.
If that line holds, it would be tied for the second-largest spread in a CFP national championship game and the fourth largest in the CFP/BCS era. Georgia was -13.5 against TCU in the 2022 national championship, while Alabama showed -9.5 against none other than Ohio State to decide the 2020 campaign. Both favorites covered the spread in blowout fashion, combining for a cover margin of 63.
Notre Dame is 12-3 against the spread this season, tied with Arizona State (12-2) and Marshall (12-1) for the most covers in the nation. The Irish are 7-0 ATS against ranked teams and 2-0 ATS as underdogs, with both covers going down as outright victories, including their win over Penn State (-1.5) in the CFP national semifinal.
However, Notre Dame was also on the losing end of the largest outright upset of the college football season when it fell as a 28.5-point favorite to Northern Illinois.
Ohio State is 9-6 against the spread and has been a favorite in every game it has played this season; it has covered the favorite spread in every CFP game thus far, including in its semifinal win against Texas when it covered -6 with overwhelming public support.
The Buckeyes also have been an extremely popular pick in the futures market all season. At BetMGM as of Friday morning, OSU had garnered a leading 28.2% of money and 16.8% of bets to win the national title, checking in as the sportsbook’s greatest liability.
Ohio State opened at +700 to win it all this season and is now -350 with just one game to play.
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