Blue Jays intentionally walk Yankees' Judge with no one on in 2nd - ESPN

NEW YORK — Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider had seen enough by the time Aaron Judge stepped to the plate in the second inning Saturday.

The New York Yankees' otherworldly slugger, fewer than 24 hours after smashing a 477-foot, two-run home run in the first inning Friday night, had clubbed another two-run shot in the first on Saturday. The blast, off Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos, was Judge's league-leading 41st of the season. Schneider decided he wasn't going to give him a chance for No. 42. So, with nobody on base and two outs, he chose to intentionally walk him.

Boos rained down in the sweltering heat at Yankee Stadium when fans realized Schneider had motioned for the free pass. The 40,000-plus in attendance wanted a chance to watch Judge perform. Little did they know they had just watched a historically rare event.

Judge, 32, became the first player intentionally walked with the bases empty in the first two innings of a game in the last 50 seasons. And the last time a player was intentionally walked with two outs and nobody on base within the first two innings of a game was Aug. 10, 1972. The player: Minnesota Twins catcher Glenn Borgmann, a .229 hitter with 16 home runs over a nine-year career who was walked to get to the pitcher.

This time, Schneider gave Judge, the Yankees' designated hitter Saturday, first base to face cleanup hitter Austin Wells, who has been one of the most productive catchers in the majors since the beginning of June. Accordingly, Wells singled, but Gleyber Torres struck out to end the inning — and render Schneider's strategy a success.

«It's tough,» Judge said. «I always want to hit, but Berríos and I, we've gone back and forth for years. I got a chance to play against him in the