Aaron Judge gives verdict on Fernando Cruz's performance for Yankees

Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees lost the series finale 5-4 against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Wednesday. While Judge and Paul Goldschmidt homered in that game, Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz drew attention with his four-strikeout performance.

Cruz took the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning, replacing Tim Hill, who allowed the Orioles to score their fifth run in the game. With one out and two men on, Cruz struck out Ryan Mountcastle and retired Heston Kjerstad to end the fifth. In the sixth, he pitched a perfect inning, striking out Ramon Urias, Cedric Mullins and Gunnar Henderson.

After the game, the Yankees captain praised the 35-year-old pitcher, especially at times when the club is struggling to keep things tight in the latter innings.

"It's impressive seeing Cruz. He came over here, and he always wanted to be a Yankee — big Yankee fan, you know," Judge said of Cruz. "It’s just his demeanor on the mound, his presence.

Judge added on Cruz's skills:

"He's attacking every single hitter, and I think when you attack guys like that, that's when you start to get some of those swings we saw — where they’re almost kind of in between, almost guessing: is it the heater, is it the splitter? But when you have fastball command like he does, and good feel for that splitter — the action is just insane. So, he’s going to be a big piece for us now and down the road."

After the game, Judge leads the majors with 10 home runs, 1.282 OPS and .427 average.

Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt's home runs can't revive second inning spill

Aaron Judge's major league-leading 10th home run of the season put the Yankees in front 2-0 in the first inning. However, the Orioles erupted for four runs in the second inning to overturn the lead.

Ryan Mountcastle hit a two-run home run off the Yankees' Carlos Carrasco, followed by another home run from Ramon Urias and an RBI single by Adley Rutschman put the Orioles in a 4-2 lead.

In the fifth inning, Paul Goldschmidt cut the deficit to one run with his solo shot to bring the game 4-3. Tim Hill had traffic and gave up a run before making way for Fernando Cruz.

Judge added another run to the Yankees' scoreboard with an RBI single to make it 5-4. However, that was the final scoring shot on the night as the Orioles won the series finale to clinch the series.