Evidently, Buck Showalter had seen enough Aaron Judge highlights for one series.
Still, the Orioles’ manager went to extreme measures to avoid Judge in the bottom of the ninth of the Yankees’ 6-4 loss Sunday in The Bronx.
With Clint Frazier on third and two outs, Showalter opted to have closer Zach Britton walk Judge intentionally.
From one perspective, the move made some sense, since Judge has tormented the Orioles like no other team this season. He entered Sunday with 11 homers and a 1.688 OPS in 18 games against Baltimore — by far his best numbers against any team.
From some others, it was a head-scratching decision.
It allowed the Yankees to bring the winning run to the plate. And the batter coming to the plate was the red-hot Gary Sanchez.
“Just pick your poison there,” Showalter said.
Britton responded by striking out Sanchez to end the game — and potentially to take Showalter off the hook.
“They’re both really good hitters,’’ Showalter said of Judge and Sanchez. “I have confidence in Zach with either one. It came up heads today. Tomorrow it might be tails.”
“It takes one mistake,” Joe Girardi said. “[Britton] didn’t make one.”
Good fortune aside, Showalter declined to elaborate much on why he would risk a game-winning homer.
“I’m not gonna get into it,’’ the former Yankees manager said. “They’re both really good hitters and a threat. They’re having a big year and gonna have great careers.”
Judge had never faced Britton, and Sanchez went into the at-bat hitless in three plate appearances, with a pair of strikeouts.
“That’s baseball,’’ Sanchez said through an interpreter of the Orioles choosing to go after him, rather than Judge. “That’s the way baseball is. It’s not the first time or the last time it will happen.”
Britton made it clear that’s not the way he would have drawn up the inning.
“It’s not something I would have [chosen],’’ said Britton, who admitted he didn’t expect to get the signal to send Judge to first. “Now with the [new] rule, it kind of surprises you for a second. I just figured, ‘Now I’ve got to get Sanchez.’ I wanted to attack Judge. I liked my chances [against Judge], but it’s not my call.”
Asked whether he understood Showalter’s decision, Britton said: “You’d have to ask him. Like I said, it wasn’t my call. My job is to attack the next guy.”
Showalter expected that reaction from Britton, who has dealt with a forearm strain this season.
“I know Zach wasn’t happy about it,” Showalter said.
And Showalter noted that Judge wasn’t the only Yankees hitter who has beaten up his team this season.
Asked if Judge’s success was the reason, Showalter said: “If that was the case, we’d walk just about all of them. … They’re two really good young hitters. There wasn’t anybody standing at first. I’m trying to give us the best chance to win.”