The Houston Astros have command over the ALCS right now after taking the first two games at home and heading to New York with a 2-0 lead.
So far, Aaron Judge has had his fair share of struggles against Astros pitching in this series.
The New York Yankees slugger picked up a hit last night, but is still hitting just .179 this postseason.
But when a reporter mentioned to Astros manager Dusty Baker that the team had pitched Judge well in the first two games of the series, Baker stopped him right in his tracks, as if not to put any jinxes on his Astros.
lmao pic.twitter.com/lPZZwjwnO6
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) October 21, 2022
Baker Doesn’t Want Any Jinxes
We know jinxes can happen in the postseason, and Baker has been a part of two of them in his managerial career.
In the 2002 World Series, he let his starter Russ Ortiz walk off the mound with the baseball after pitching into the seventh inning, then the Los Angeles Angels came back to win the game and force Game 7 on the San Francisco Giants.
He was also manager of the Chicago Cubs on the night where the late Bernie Mac said “Champs!” during the seventh inning stretch before the Steve Bartman incident.
So naturally, Baker doesn’t want any more jinxes.
He also understands just how dangerous Judge can be at the plate and doesn’t want to take any chances with the likely American League MVP Award winner.
The Astros have command in this series, but if anything can save the Yankees, it’s Judge’s power, and he could turn it on at any point.
Baker certainly hopes to avoid any jinxes this series.
That could be a good start.
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