Yankees' Aaron Judge drops harsh truth bomb after Astros series
With seven weeks left in the 2025 MLB regular season, the New York Yankees are clinging to playoff hopes while slumping through one of their worst stretches of the year. After starting August 60-49 and riding a three-game win streak, New York has gone 2-7, dropping three straight series and seven of its last nine games. Sunday's 7-1 loss to the Houston Astros left them 62-56, just a half-game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for the final AL Wild Card spot.
Aaron Judge, sidelined for two weeks earlier with a flexor strain in his throwing arm and now limited to DH duties, is still producing at an MVP level, slashing .337/.446/.691 with 37 home runs and 86 RBI in 108 games. He offered a blunt postgame assessment after Sunday's loss.
'Yeah, it's tough, but there's no excuses,' said Judge. 'We've got to go out there and perform at our best, go out there and win baseball games. Fans are still packing out and showing support for us, and we've got to show out for them and just go out there and do our job. That's what it comes down to. It's we're not doing our job. We're not doing the little things to put ourselves in a good position to go out there and win baseball games.
'So, it's going to take all of us. It's going to take everybody in this room — every reliever, every infield-outfield guy,' Aaron Judge continued. 'So, we've just got to step up. That's what it comes down to. I wouldn't say the confidence has really changed. We have a lot of confident guys in this room, and we've just got to focus on what we can control and go out there and do it.'
Manager Aaron Boone, who was ejected in the third inning, also hammered home the urgency, stressing that the team remains in control of its fate but needs consistency. Since June 13, the Yankees have gone 20-31 after a 42-25 start. They trail the AL East-leading Blue Jays by 6.5 games and sit behind the Red Sox by 2.5 in the division race.
The rotation has been a major concern, with Sunday being the 10th consecutive game in which a Yankees starter failed to pitch past the fifth inning. Ace left-hander Max Fried, who had a 1.92 ERA through June 25, has struggled badly since, allowing 29 runs (24 earned) over his last 36 innings for a 6.00 ERA. In Sunday's outing, he gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings, failing to put hitters away despite throwing 64 strikes out of 94 pitches.
Offensively, New York has hit just .216 in 22 games since the All-Star break. Key contributors like Anthony Volpe (.231 in the second half), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (.200), and Austin Wells (.118) have underperformed. Against Houston, the Yankees managed only three hits, going hitless until Ben Rice's sixth-inning single.
A six-game homestand concludes with a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins, where Judge and Boone insist the team must immediately respond.
Related: Yankees' Aaron Boone ripped by fans over bold claim after 7-1 loss to Astros
Related: Yankees' Aaron Boone hit with 5-word message from ump during ejection
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