A's reliever Tyler Ferguson allows homer to Aaron Judge after saying he wanted to strike out slugger
Toward the end of last season after making his debut with the Athletics following nine seasons in the minor leagues, Tyler Ferguson said to a local TV station he wanted to strike out Judge about a month before the Yankees' final trip to Oakland.
He finally had his chance Sunday.
Ferguson was one strike away in his first matchup with Judge. Instead, Ferguson became the 260th pitcher to allow a homer to the slugger, who hit a two-run drive in the seventh inning of the Yankees' 12-5 win.
'I don't remember much honestly, unfortunately' said Ferguson, the only active player born in Fresno. 'I didn't go to a lot of Fresno State games, but I just remember him being a highly touted prospect and obviously a large human being very recognizable but it's impressive how he's continued to just get better and better as he's gotten older.'
Ferguson got ahead in the count 1-2 with a sweeper before Judge fouled off a sinker and a four-seam fastball. After throwing a sinker and a sweeper out of the strike zone to get a full count, Judge hit the 31-year-old right-hander's 95.5 mph four-seam fastball into the A's bullpen in left-center.
'First time facing him, best hitter in the league,' Ferguson said. 'So I was looking forward to that at-bat. I was able to get ahead and then wasn't able to execute a couple of pitches and he was able to get it back to 3-2 and I didn't get the ball quite as high as I would have liked and he made a good swing on it.'
'I didn't (know that),' Judge said of Ferguson's comment. 'I'm learning that as you told me.'
Ferguson turned around and watched the 426-foot drive as YES Network play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco proclaimed: 'The King of Fresno.'
'That's why you don't talk in public,' YES Network analyst and former reliever Jeff Nelson said on the telecast. 'You don't make a comment that I want to strike out Judge in public. You keep it to yourself.'
Judge reached 30 homers for the fifth straight season and fourth time before All-Star break. He also became the sixth player in team history with six 30-homer seasons and the joined Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio as the third Yankee with six 30-homer seasons within the first 10 years of his career.
Ferguson debuted with the A's May 7, 2024, but had made two scoreless appearances against the Yankees before Judge homered. Drafted by the Texas Rangers in the sixth round in 2015 out of Vanderbilt, Ferguson never advanced above Single-A with Texas and spent 2019 playing independent baseball in Quebec.
After being released by the Dodgers in 2020 when the minor league season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferguson joined the Braves following a brief stint with the Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball.
Ferguson reached Triple-A with the Braves, signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks after the 2022 season and spent 2023 with the Reno Aces. The A's signed him to a minor league contract in Nov. 2023 and called him up after 14 games with Triple-A Las Vegas.
'It was about nine, 10 years in the minors between when I got drafted to when I made my debut last year,' Ferguson said. 'So it was a long ride, but happy to be here and just trying to get better and trying not to give up (home runs) and make better pitches.'
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