Yankees' final excuse officially falls flat as losing streak continues

Aaron Judge made his long-awaited return to the New York Yankees on Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers, having spent 10 days on the Injured List with a right flexor strain in his elbow.

Both fans and the organization couldn’t have been more excited to see Judge back in the lineup — a .342 hitter with 37 home runs and a 1.151 OPS. Surely, nothing could go wrong this time ... right?

Unfortunately for the Yankees, Judge’s three at-bats weren’t enough to spark any momentum. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a groundout to Corey Seager in the top of the seventh inning. New York recorded just two hits all game: an Anthony Volpe double in the third inning and, six innings later, a Ryan McMahon single to lead off the ninth.

Many hoped Judge’s return would inject life into a slumping team riding a four-game losing streak and continuing to slide in the AL standings. Instead, it marked the second time in four games the Yankees tallied just two hits. Despite solid pitching from rookie Will Warren — who threw five shutout innings with five strikeouts — the bats remain ice cold.

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Not even Aaron Judge's return can snap Yankees out of their slump

“We got some work to do, a lot of things to clean up,” Judge said postgame, addressing the team’s current state. “It’s a lot of mistakes all around — some mental mistakes and physical mistakes — but we’ve got to fix them, and we’ve got to fix them now.”

Judge’s return might’ve been more meaningful had it not been for Devin Williams’ eighth-inning collapse. Coming off the worst stretch of his career — allowing at least one run in three straight outings for the first time ever — manager Aaron Boone tried to reduce the pressure, using Williams one rung lower than usual in the bullpen hierarchy.

But in the blink of an eye, the worst-case scenario unfolded. A leadoff double by Adolis García, followed by two consecutive walks, loaded the bases. Despite having both David Bednar and Mark Leiter Jr. warming up, Boone stuck with Williams.

After a 10-pitch battle with Rowdy Tellez, two runs scored — and the rest was history. Only after the damage was done did Boone make a pitching change. Williams, visibly frustrated, exited after giving up his fifth earned run over his last three appearances.

No matter how many home runs Judge hits, the Yankees’ offense is officially flat. Finger-pointing has become habitual, and silence has only made things worse. If a solution isn’t found soon, the desire to compete may start to fade — for Boone, for Williams, and even for Judge.