Judge (1-for-5) still looking for 62 after G1 win

ARLINGTON -- The Yankees are giving Aaron Judge every possible opportunity to hit a 62nd homer and surpass Roger Maris as the American League’s new single-season champion. Though Aaron Boone says there’s no one better equipped to deal with the accompanying madness, the manager acknowledges: “It has been a lot.”

Judge drilled an eighth-inning single but could not clear the fences in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Rangers, a 5-4 Yankees victory at Globe Life Field. Instead, Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza and Kyle Higashioka all went deep for the Bombers, with Harrison Bader delivering a go-ahead hit in the eighth.

“He’s gotten some pitches to hit here the last couple of days; generally, he’s gotten a good swing off and fouled it off,” Boone said of Judge. “That’s usually the fine-line difference between when you’re really rolling or you’re a tick off. Instead of really sticking one like he has 61 times, he’s fouled some balls off. But I don’t think he’s far off.”

Playing in his 54th consecutive game, Judge went 1-for-5. He’s now hitting .310, with fading chances of catching the Twins’ Luis Arraez (.315) for a potential Triple Crown.

Facing Texas starter Jon Gray, Judge grounded out in the first inning, flew out in the third and popped out in the fifth. He singled off Brock Burke in the eighth, scoring the go-ahead run on Bader’s hit, then grounded out against Jonathan Hernández in the ninth.

Higashioka worked a ninth-inning, two-out walk that brought Judge to the plate for one more shot at history; the catcher joked that the free pass represented “probably the loudest ovation I’ve ever gotten.”

“It just shows how special Judge’s season has been and how much the fans want it for him,” Higashioka said. “They’re just so excited for him to get one extra chance. As teammates, we all want this for him, too.”

Yankees right-hander Jameson Taillon permitted four runs over six innings, making his final tune-up before a potential postseason start late in the American League Division Series. Josh Jung had a two-run single and Adolis García hit a two-run homer off Taillon, who scattered seven hits in a 97-pitch effort.

“I’m proud of making 32 starts for the second time in my career,” Taillon said. “Coming off an ankle surgery, I was pretty excited to get to take the ball and post up every time. As far as today goes, I really didn’t have a ton of my best stuff, but we found a way to go six.”

Boone said that Judge would play in Tuesday’s nightcap, as the Yankees hope to see him pass Maris’ record. Judge showed some frustration after popping out in the fifth inning of the opener, slamming his helmet into the bat rack.

“I’m sure he wants to hit it, but it hasn’t been much different than what I hear or see out of him throughout the year,” Boone said. “He lets it out a little bit down there; not much, typically. But I really think he’s fine.”