Aaron Judge can still rewrite his postseason story — but Yankees' time is running out

NEW YORK — Aaron Judge is making history again, only this time in infamy. 

After all the triumphs of his spectacular regular season, the Yankees slugger still had one pesky storyline following him into his seventh career postseason, and through the first two games of the American League Division Series, he hasn't done much to squash the narrative that he can't deliver in October. 

Judge faced a familiar backdrop for his first at-bat of the evening Monday: 48,034 fans on their feet and screaming their heads off as he stepped into the box. That's what he was used to this season as he tallied the most home runs (58), RBIs (144) and walks (133) in the major leagues. Game 2's scene of thousands wearing his No. 99 pinstriped home jersey in the Bronx was similar to when he recorded the top OPS (1.159) in baseball for the second time in his career this year. Even the situation he walked up to was recognizable and typically favorable: runners on first and second with nobody out. 

The one difference? It's the playoffs.

After two competitive at-bats from Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto, each hitter drawing 6-pitch walks against Royals ace Cole Ragans, Judge struck out on four pitches and took all the juice out of the building with him. It also gave Judge the worst strikeout rate (34.3%) in MLB postseason history among hitters with at least 200 plate appearances.

Judge would draw a walk and reach on an infield single to finish the night 1-for-3. He's 1-for-7 to start this postseason. When asked after the Yankees' 4-2 loss to the Royals on Monday how he's been feeling at the plate, Judge delivered a line you might have heard from him before.

"If I'm not hitting 1.000, I'm not feeling good," he said. 

Judge added that he isn't frustrated