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Aaron Judge Had Strong Words After Yankees’ Loss to Astros

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 1:18 AM ET

The New York Yankees have lost three straight series, and their playoff positioning is getting weaker by the day. They're now just a half-game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for the AL's third and final Wild Card spot after Sunday's 7-1 loss to the Houston Astros.

The bright side is that generational superstar Aaron Judge returned on Tuesday after missing 10 games with an elbow injury. However, the 33-year-old has been in the designated hitter slot since then, as he's still not ready to play the outfield. That's caused fellow slugger and regular designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton to be partially phased out of the lineup, since he's almost solely an offensive player at this point in his career. He hadn't played the field since 2023 before starting in right field on Saturday.

Additionally, New York has been inconsistent on both sides of the ball. For example, two-time All-Star relief pitcher Devin Williams is 0-2 with a blown save since Monday, and the offense has averaged just 2.83 runs per game in that period.

Judge opened up to the media about the situation after Sunday's loss, via SNY.

"It's tough, but there's no excuses. We're getting paid to go out there, perform at our best, and win baseball games," he said. "The fans are still packing out and showing support for us, and we gotta show up for them. We've got to go out there and do our job. "

"That's what it comes down to...We're not doing our job, we're not doing the little things that put ourselves in position to win baseball games," he continued. "It's going to take all of us...I wouldn't say the confidence has really changed."

"We're not doing our job, we're not doing the little things that put ourselves in position to win baseball games. It's going to take all of us...I wouldn't say the confidence has really changed."

Aaron Judge is asked if the Yankees are able to maintain confidence amid struggles: pic.twitter.com/kECNW7x6Zw
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 10, 2025

Aaron Judge Health Update Provides Silver Lining for Yankees

New York is having a brutal stretch, as its 201 runs allowed since July 1 is the third-most in MLB. While the team must improve its pitching and defense, it has a pathway to quickly improve its offense.

Once Judge is ready to throw again, the Yankees can go back to starting him in right field with Stanton at designated hitter. If they both play to their full potential, then the team could shoot back up the standings. Stanton was the ALCS MVP last season, and Judge leads baseball with a .337 batting average and 1.137 OPS.

Judge admitted on Sunday that he doesn't know when he'll be able to play the field again, but his throwing program is going well so far, via SNY. If the future Hall of Famer continues to avoid setbacks, it increases the chances that he'll return to the outfield before the playoffs.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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