Aaron Judge’s return still hasn’t jumpstarted Yankees’ lineup

Not even Aaron Judge can save the Yankees these days.

After the slugger tied the game in the sixth inning, when the Yankees lineup had its one moment of life on Friday, Judge came up again in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied.

This time, though, he popped out to shortstop against Houston closer Josh Hader before Devin Williams’ predictable implosion in the 10th led to another loss, this one 5-3 to Houston.

The Yankees have lost two of three games since Judge returned from missing 10 games with a right elbow flexor strain.

Judge came up in the bottom of the first with Ben Rice at second after a one-out double — the only base runner the Yankees had against Houston right-hander Hunter Brown until the sixth — and grounded out to short, as the Yankees failed to score in the inning.

Aaron Judge walks back to the dugout after striking out in the fourth inning of the Yankees’ 5-3, 10-inning loss to the Astros on Aug. 8, 2025.

He flied out to left to end the bottom of the fourth before delivering a run-scoring hit in the sixth.

It came after the Yankees finally got going against Brown, who allowed four of the five batters he faced that inning to reach base.

Ryan McMahon walked, Austin Wells doubled down the first base line to send McMahon to third before Trent Grisham popped out to shallow left.

Rice then came through with an RBI single to right to get the Yankees within a run and Judge followed with a base hit to center that drove in Wells to tie the game at 2-2.

Aaron Judge rips an RBI single in the sixth inning of the Yankees’ 10-inning loss to the Astros.

But as has so often been the case with the Yankees lately, they were unable to finish the job in the inning.

With runners on the corners and one out, Brown was removed for Bennett Sousa and the lefty got Cody Bellinger swinging and Jazz Chisholm Jr. to fly out to right to keep the game tied.

It stayed that way until the 10th, when Williams gave up three runs in the top of the inning and the Yankees only rallied for one in the bottom of the inning to fall for the sixth time in seven games.