Yankees star looks 'cooked' in MLB playoffs, says New York host | “I'm worried”

The good news: The New York Yankees are one win away from reaching the AL Championship Series. The bad news: Aaron Judge scored in the AL Division Series, continuing his career trend.

The reality is that despite Judge being 1-for-11 with three walks and five strikeouts, the Yankees have taken a 2-1 series lead against the Kansas City Royals. It worried some, including WFAN's Keith McPherson.

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Restore the glory

“This is Aaron Judge we’re talking about,” Keith McPherson said of Audacy on Thursday. “This is a guy that I said this season was the best baseball player I’ve ever seen. I would be reluctant to take that statement back. I won't retract it, but he looks done up there. I'm worried.

“Without this guy, the Yankees can’t get where they want to go.”

Judge's struggles could be viewed as a blip and/or a small sample anomaly, but his career postseason results show a trend line of subpar production. In 47 postseason games (212 plate appearances), Judge is batting .203/.308/.440 (103 wRC+) with 13 home runs and 25 RBIs. He has a 33.5% strikeout rate and a 13.2% walk rate.

Such production would be disappointing for a much worse player, but it provides more of a surprise for Judge. He had a .322/.458/.701 line (218 OPS+) with 58 home runs and 144 RBIs that season, making him the favorite for the AL MVP award.

Judge's teammates expect him to break out soon.

“He's definitely going to do some damage,” designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton told reporters after the 3-2 win in Game 3. It's just a matter of time. He had good at-bats. It will come when we need it most.

New York can advance with a win in Game 4 on Thursday.