Judge extends hit streak to 11 with RBI 1B
DETROIT -- Make it 11.
Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge extended his hitting streak to 11 games on Friday with an RBI single in the fifth inning that scored Brett Gardner and gave the Yankees a four-run lead over the Tigers en route to their 8-6 win.
It's the longest hitting streak by a Yankee this season, and tied for the third-longest active streak in the Majors.
"His at-bats have been so good," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "I mean, he can really wear down a pitcher."
Judge went on to steal second on a missed hit-and-run that saw Giancarlo Stanton go down swinging. He then scored when Dixon Machado airmailed his throw to first base on Didi Gregorius' two-out grounder, giving the Yankees a 5-0 lead. Judge, who finished 1-for-4 with a walk, has now scored at least one run in six straight games, and nine of his last 10. He's also recorded an RBI in seven of his past 10 games.
"I'm just sticking to my plan. That's all I can do," Judge said. "Just stick to my approach, and swing at good pitches. That's about it."
Judge is batting 16-for-41 with 11 walks during the streak, and is now three games shy of matching the longest hitting streak of his career.
"Whatever he does, it seems like he's in and winning so many pitches in the course of the game," Boone said. "He makes it really hard on an opposing pitcher. He's in a really good place."