Torres: Guardians 'woke up Judge' with intentional walk to Soto

New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres said the Cleveland Guardians lit a fire under Aaron Judge by intentionally walking Juan Soto to load the bases with one out for the AL MVP favorite in the second inning of Game 2 of the ALCS.

"Those types of situations give motivation for everybody," Torres said postgame following a Yankees' 6-3 win to take a commanding 2-0 lead, according to Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated. "I think they woke up Judge."

Judge, who entered the contest hitting 2-for-13 with six walks in this year's playoffs, recorded a sacrifice fly during the at-bat and later agreed with Cleveland's strategy, since Soto is slashing .350/.462/.550 over six postseason games in 2024 and went deep in Game 1.

"He's been swinging the bat well recently, and trying to get a double play there, try to get him out of the inning," Judge said, per SNY. "I would walk him too at this point."

Meanwhile, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt acknowledged the intentional walk to Soto made sense based on the context of the game.

"They were hitting the ball around the ballpark, and we needed to stop the game," Vogt said, according to Apstein. "In that situation, you want to try to get a double-play ball. You want to try to get two outs with one pitch. You want to try to find a way to get out of that inning."

The Guardians limited the damage in the second, but Judge did eventually make them pay with a two-run homer during the seventh to break the game open.

"I was like, dang," Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. said when asked about Judge's blast. "That should've happened (two) at-bats before."

The ALCS shifts to Cleveland's Progressive Field for a pivotal Game 3 on Thursday.