Aaron Judge said that the Yankees would need to βcome with our bestβ to compete against Shohei Ohtani and the Angels. The captain backed up those words in the first inning on Wednesday, securing a spot in the day’s top plays.
Needing every inch of his 6-foot-7 frame, Judge robbed Ohtani of a home run with a terrific leap against the center-field wall — only he didn’t catch it in his glove. After smacking the heel of his glove, the ball popped out. Judge secured the out with his bare hand, then flashed a grin of relief.
In today’s game, the “fastball count” no longer exists, and, increasingly, neither do fastballs as the primary pitch. Today’s pitchers throw heaters barely more than 50% of the time. What they’re doing is turning to a pitch that makes batters look silly.
It’s been 563 days since Fernando Tatis Jr. played in a regular-season Major League game. The Padres get an MVP-caliber player back atop their lineup and in right field when they open a series tonight in Arizona.