Aaron Judge is the Yankees' best guard in Game 2 of the ALCS

NEW YORK – Aaron Judge, the best hitter in the world, finally mastered his role in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. Five difficult postseason games culminated in one major turnaround on Tuesday night when Judge hit his two-run home run in a 6-3 victory that gave the New York Yankees a 2-0 series lead over the Cleveland Guardians.

While the Yankees scored three early runs to capitalize on sloppy play from the usually clean Guardians, Judge's home run – a 414-foot shot to center field off Cleveland reliever Hunter Gaddis in the seventh inning – thrilled the 47,054 crowd at Yankee Stadium and served as a reminder that the future AL MVP is more than capable of providing unforgettable October moments.

“You never know on these windy, chilly nights what the ball is going to do when you hit the middle here,” Judge said, “but the ghosts went out there to Monument Park, that’s for sure.”

The Yankees had won four of their first five playoff games with little performance from their captain. While Judge walked five times, he had only had two hits in 15 at-bats this postseason before Tuesday. He tripled his previous RBI output in one night, and a three-hit night from Gleyber Torres and five hits from the final three in the lineup made up for Gerrit Cole's subpar performance.

In a game that featured two errors by Cleveland, two terrible baserunning errors in the same inning by New York, and a combined 2-for-17 mark with runners in scoring position, the Yankees cobbled together enough offense and made pitches when the opportunity arose.

They scored in the first after shortstop Brayan Rocchio dropped a sky-high popup from Judge that allowed Torres to score, and added two runs in the second against Guardians starter Tanner Bibee, who lasted just 1.1 innings and allowed five hits. Cleveland Fireman Cade Smith inherited a bases-loaded jam in the second after manager Stephen Vogt intentionally walked Juan Soto to load the bases and face Judge, whose sacrifice fly extended New York's lead to 3-0.

Cole, the Yankees' star who earned a Division Series win over Kansas City in his last start, struggled with his control and allowed 10 baserunners over 4.1 innings. He left the game in the fifth inning with the bases loaded, and reliever Clay Holmes allowed a run to score on a force out before striking out Austin Hedges to end the threat.

“We had traffic all night tonight,” Vogt said. “We do what we do. We get on base and make things happen. We just didn't have much success with the runners in scoring position tonight. We are one shot away from taking the lead in this game. We're one shot away from being back in it. We just have to keep going.

With the series heading to Cleveland for at least two and possibly three games, who the Guardians were isn't enough. New York added another run in the sixth when Anthony Rizzo – in his second game back after breaking two fingers on September 28 – doubled off shortstop Anthony Volpe. Both finished the game with two hits off No. 9 hitter Alex Verdugo, who scored a run with a double.

“Our bottom finish could be our top finish,” Rizzo said. “Our top team is so strong and so good. We know our role at the bottom. We just want to pass it on to the next guy, pass it on to the next guy, and that’s our mentality.”

Torres' third hit of the night helped set up Judge in the seventh when he ambushed a 95 mph fastball from Gaddis. Only once this season has Gaddis allowed a home run with a top-of-the-zone fastball, but no hitter in the game is capable of doing as much damage as Judge, who finished the season hitting .322/. Finished .458/.701 with 58 home runs and 144 RBIs.

“The preparation he does, who he is as a person, who he is as a teammate, it’s so easy to get excited about him,” Rizzo said. “In these games it really doesn’t matter who it is, how excited we are for everyone, but when Aaron does things it’s really special just because he’s such a special person.”

Judge's postseason problems had been minimized because his teammates had played so well in the previous five games. He has never deviated from his approach, which sounds simple and cliché – take things one at a time – but has produced historic results. Although his career postseason numbers pale in comparison to those of the regular season, Judge continued to ignore all critics.

“I’ve been booed here many times,” he said. “Many legends who played here were booed. That's just part of it. You can't concentrate on that. You have to go out. They want to see you win. They want to see you.’ You just have to focus on what I can control, what I do in the box and on the field.

What he did on the field Tuesday was far more in line with what Judge expects of himself. And when closer Luke Weaver ended the game after allowing a home run to Jose Ramirez in the ninth inning, it became clear that these Yankees may be cut from a different cloth than those of recent vintage.

“This is a really good baseball team we’re playing against,” Vogt said. “We’ve known that all year. We know we have a lot of work to do, but this is who we are. We are thriving under this situation and will be ready to go.”