Rangers Intend to Pitch to Yankees' Aaron Judge amid HR Pursuit, Tony Beasley Says

The Texas Rangers aren't going to be overly cautious when Aaron Judge is at the plate during their season-ending four-game set with the New York Yankees.

"We've got to try to make pitches to get him out," Rangers interim manager Tony Beasley told reporters Monday. "I don't have intentions to not pitch to him. We just want to make good pitches, and hopefully we can get him out and definitely keep him in the ballpark."

Beasley added that the approach will depend on the situation:

When Judge hit his 60th home run Sept. 20, it felt like only a matter of time before he passed Yankees legend Roger Maris for the American League single-season mark. Since then, however, he has struggled.

In his last 49 plate appearances, the four-time All-Star is batting .233 with 14 strikeouts, 18 walks and two intentional walks. Though he hit his 61st homer in a win Wednesday over the Toronto Blue Jays, the wait for No. 62 continues.

Judge has become a victim of his own success to a degree. The more he continued to mash the ball, the less inclined opposing teams were to pitch to him.

The Blue Jays accounted for eight of those free passes in three games last week. With their eyes on a wild-card berth, they weren't about to let the 6'7" slugger beat them.

The Rangers, who were out of postseason contention long ago, don't have to make the same kind of calculations when they welcome in the Bronx Bombers. That could work to Judge's benefit.