Aaron Judge isn't just chasing home run history. He's saving the Yankees' season | Opinion

NEW YORK – Since the early part of August, you might imagine every opposing pitchers’ meeting to game plan against the Yankees’ lineup would go something like this…

Aaron Judge? Don’t let him beat you.

Anyone else? Take your best shot.

How Judge is still getting pitches he can damage, with the Yankees otherwise in a daily struggle to mount a rally, is a hard-to-explain marvel of late summer.

But it happened again Monday afternoon, in a pivotal moment against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium.

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Batting in the sixth inning of a tie game, Judge blasted his 54th home run of the season into the left field second deck, off right-hander Trevor Megill.

"Just gets more and more amazing what he's doing,'' manager Aaron Boone said after Judge's eighth homer in his last 13 games sent the Yankees toward a 5-2 victory on Labor Day before 38,446 fans.

"It's getting hard to put into words what he's doing. Just a special season he's in the midst of.''

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Among the Yankees' all-time greats

Judge's latest drive put him into a rare place in Yankees’ history, among the top four single-season home run leaders – led by Roger Maris’ 61 in 1961.

Judge has 27 more games to take dead aim at that mark, but he’s already with Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Alex Rodriguez, who each reached 54 in a single season.

Next on the all-time franchise list: Ruth’s 59 in 1921, followed by the Bambino’s 60-homer season in 1927.

Ask him what it means, and Judge tees up a predictable answer: "It's just not that important to me,'' because his sights are currently on winning the AL East.

"It's not about me.''

Oh, but it is.

Aaron Judge's MVP statement

These days, Judge’s AL MVP credentials begin not with any eye-popping stat but a simple fact: He is carrying a lineup full of dead weight through a pennant race.

And it’s only a race because of an injury-riddled and absent batting order, one that now might be losing Giancarlo Stanton for a spell.

Stanton is day-to-day after fouling a pitch off his left foot, near the ankle. Preliminary X-rays came back negative, but what else is new?

Monday’s 0-for-3 extended Stanton’s 3-for-36 slide, on a day when the ailing DJ LeMahieu – in a 1-for-31 canyon – was rested due in part to a foot issue that might require offseason surgery to resolve.

Andrew Benintendi (hamate bone fracture) was scheduled for surgery Tuesday on his right hand, though the Yankees remain hopeful that he'll return in time for the postseason.

'Focusing on my plan'

Meanwhile, with Anthony Rizzo (lower back) still being nursed along, the Yankees' lineup entered Monday averaging 2.3 runs per game over their last nine games - losing seven of them.

They were 4-for-49 with runners in scoring position before Josh Donaldson's first-inning RBI double off the left field wall - which resulted in him getting thrown out at second base, after going into his home run trot.

In that abyss, Judge (2-for-3, double, walk, homer on Monday) is slashing .478/.586/.1.217 over his last seven games, with five homers.

“It’s hard for me to just hit one,’’ said Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who collected his second homer of the year Monday. “(Judge) gets one or two pitches a game’’ to inflict damage.

Still, Judge says he hasn’t really noticed if he’s getting any fewer pitches to drive these days.

“I try to focus on my plan,’’ said Judge, choosing to table any meaningful talk about home run records until the offseason, just like the gargantuan contract he’s likely to command in free agency.

The all-for-one attitude

Judge’s response Monday came soon after old pal Gary Sanchez – in his first game as an opponent at Yankee Stadium – crushed a two-run homer, traveling an estimated 473 feet, off Jameson Taillon.

After being buzzed up-and-in by a flat slider, Judge connected on Megill’s 3-1 hanging slider.

“It’s just fun to show up and watch him play every day,’’ said Taillon, where “one swing of the bat can change a game.’’

Cue another round of “M-V-P’’ chants.

“He’s our leader,’’ said IKF. “Everybody feeds off his energy.’’

“He’s genuinely just that, invested in everybody,’’ said Taillon.

As for every home run moving Judge closer to history, “he’s equipped for all that,’’ Boone said. “I don’t think it matters. He’s focused on winning.’’

If he can set aside the contract business, Judge can live with the dual pursuit of Maris’ mark and dragging the Yanks across the finish line.

“Just trying to do what I can every single day … whether that’s moving a guy over, driving in a guy, or making a play on defense.’’

Or belting another go-ahead homer.