Ron Washington, manager of the Los Angeles Angels, intentionally walked Aaron Judge twice in the first two innings of the New York Yankees’ 1-0 victory on Wednesday night, a strategy met with Judge’s lighthearted acknowledgment as he tipped his cap to Washington, who found it amusing. The Yankees scored the game’s only run in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Volpe, maintaining their strong performance with nine wins in their last ten games, improving to 35-20, while the Angels fell to 25-30, suffering their fifth consecutive loss. Judge, leading the league with a .395 batting average and 18 home runs, was effectively neutralized by Washington’s tactic, demonstrating the challenges of facing him in the lineup.
