Aaron Judge goes 1 for 12 as Yankees swept by Red Sox

BOSTON (AP) – Aaron Judge Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series at the Boston Red Sox.

“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1 for 12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.

“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

Judge had a game-tying solo homer in the opener on Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.

New York scored only four runs in the three-game set, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, from June 20-22, 1916 and from Sept. 28-30, 1922.

“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.

“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”