Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole look to lead Yankees to ALCS

NEW YORK — Giancarlo Stanton stole the spotlight in Game 3 of this American League Division Series against the Royals on Wednesday night, when he clubbed the go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning as part of a three-hit night that also included his first stolen base since 2020, leading his Yankees to a 3-2 victory.

Now one win away from punching their ticket to the American League Championship Series, the Yankees have two other high-priced stars who are due to make their imprint in Game 4 on Thursday.

If ace Gerrit Cole recovers from a flat performance (five innings, seven hits, four runs) in Game 1 and captain Aaron Judge snaps out of his series-long slump (1-for-11, five strikeouts, 11 left on base in 14 plate appearances), the Yankees will likely be soaking each other in bubbly in the visitors’ clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium.

The marquee hitter and pitcher for the Bronx Bombers will do what they can do to avoid a winner-take-all, Game 5 at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

Cole has generally been solid in the postseason (3.05 ERA in 18 starts). On the other hand, Judge’s struggles this time of year (batting line of .203/.308/.440 in 212 career plate appearances in the playoffs) are starting to become a thing.

Yet nobody in the Yankees’ clubhouse sounds worried about their massive slugger, who belted 58 home runs during the regular season.

“He’s definitely going to do damage,” Stanton said. “It’s only a matter of time. He’s had good at-bats, so yeah, it’ll come when we need him most.”

While it is always nice to be in the position the Yankees are in — with two shots to win one game — going to a winner-take-all contest is never the ideal scenario.

A win in Game 4, and the Yankees can get their pitching lined up for an ALCS that would start on Monday night in the Bronx against either the Tigers or Guardians.

Cole is excited to have a chance to earn his team a few days of rest.

“It’s been a great series so far,” Cole said. “A lot of back and forth. Looking forward to getting another crack at it.”

Yankees hitting coach James Rowson and left fielder Alex Verdugo both said Judge took his best swings of the series in Game 3, even while going 0-for-4 with one walk and one strikeout.

In the first inning, Judge had a 114.4 mph lineout to shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., the hardest-hit ball in the game.

Judge also had a 99.2 mph flyout to center. His bat speed on the flyout was 82.3 mph, tied for fifth best of any ball put in play in the game.

But at this stage, the Yankees’ superstar isn’t interested in moral victories.

“I didn’t get any hits [tonight], so it’s not feeling too good,” Judge said of his swing. “[But] we’re right where we need to be.”

Does Judge think Thursday will be his night?

“Every night’s our night,” Judge said.

Interestingly, Judge had his best postseason success in his first two cracks at October.

From 2017-18, he played in 18 playoff games, slashing .254/.367/.627 with seven homers and 15 RBIs.

In his last 28 playoff games dating back to 2019, Judge’s line slipped to .180/.276/.342 with six homers and 10 RBIs.

It might just take one big swing from Judge to reverse that trend.

“I definitely have all my trust in him and what he can do,” said Yankees right fielder Juan Soto.

There is nobody manager Aaron Boone would rather hand the ball to in a situation like this.

“Obviously this was a big one to get, and [we’re] excited to give Gerrit the ball [in Game 4],” Boone said. “And hopefully he can go out and get us off to a good start [Thursday] night. We always love handing the ball to our ace.”

The Royals have hung with the Yankees throughout this series, losing Games 1 and 3 by one run and winning Game 2 by a two-run margin. Cole knows what he will be up against. He looks forward to the opportunity to end it.

“This is a wonderful ballpark with a wonderful fan base,” Cole said. “I expect them to be very loud and ready to go. As a competitor, you respect that type of environment and look forward to playing in those situations.”