Aaron Judge struck out three time against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. (Frank Franklin II, AP)
That was a bummer of a finale.
Not only did Aaron Judge not make history in the final regular season home game in the Bronx in a 3-1 loss to the Orioles, but the Bombers might have lost reliever Ron Marinaccio in the process.
The Yankees lost the three-game series to the Orioles and finished the regular season at the Stadium 57-24.
Judge went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts Sunday. He has four games in Texas to try and break the 61-year old American League single-season record, set 61 years ago by Roger Maris.
In the first, Judge got ahead 2-0, but Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish battled back and got him looking at an 89-mile an hour slider. In the second, with the bases loaded and two outs Bradish got ahead 0-2 and thought he had him on a checked swing at 2-2. First base umpire Dan Merzel gave Judge another chance and Bradish finished him off with a curveball that Judge swung and missed at. In the fifth with one on and no outs, Judge worked a five-pitch walk.
That walk extended Judge’s on-base streak to 30 games. During that span, Judge is hitting .398 with 12 home runs and 21 RBI. In the seventh, Bryan Baker got Judge to swing through an 87-mph curveball, a 99-mph fastball and struck him out on a 98-mph fastball.
Judge is 7-of-30 with one homer in 11 games since hitting his 60th homer on Sept. 20 against the Pirates.
In the eighth, Marinaccio left with an apparent injury. The rookie, who has become one of the bullpen’s most reliable pieces, had cleaned up a mess left by Aroldis Chapman in the seventh, facing two batters and got one out in the eighth. He was facing Jorge Mateo and after throwing a 1-1 pitch, he let one go wide, but at normal velocity for him. Aaron Boone popped out of the dugout with a trainer.
That is just another concern for the Yankees, whose bullpen was a big reason for their first half success. They have lost Clay Holmes (shoulder) and Wandy Peralta (back) down the stretch. They were already without Michael King since July.
Chapman showed once again he is not consistent.
The Yankees former closer gave up a lead off single to Cedric Mullins and walked the bases loaded before recording his first out — a strikeout looking. Chapman walked in a run and Boone had to go get Marinaccio to get out of the jam. The Orioles scored another on an Austin Hays sacrifice fly and Aaron Hicks saved two more runs from crossing the plate with a tremendous catch on a Terrin Vavra line drive.
Heading into this final home season series, Boone would not commit to Chapman having a postseason roster spot. These last few games were going to help them decide who they can take into the Division Series with them, now it just may be whoever is still standing.
Chi Chi Gonzalez gave the Yankees 4.2 innings allowing one run on four hits and three walks. He struck out three. Gonzalez was called up to the Bronx because of the threat of rain and his arrival allowed the team to push back their regular rotation.
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Originally published at Tribune News Service