WATCH: Aaron Judge’s clutch HR robbery leaves Carlos Rodon and Pete-Crow Armstrong speechless

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge had an unusually quiet night at the plate against the Chicago Cubs on Friday. However, the two-time MVP put on a defensive masterclass in the outfield.

The reigning AL MVP justified his seventh All-Star selection as an outfielder as Judge let nothing past him in the series opener against the Cubs. One of the highlights of the game was the towering outfielder's clutch play in the fourth inning to rob Pete Crow-Armstrong of a home run in the fourth inning.

Armstrong, who was seemingly on his way to celebrate his blast off Carlos Rodon, was left stunned by Judge's leaping grab over the rightfield fence. The Cubs star acknowledged the effort and so did Rodon.

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It wasn't the only remarkable play from the All-Star outfielder as Aaron Judge made a diving catch just after his robbery to end the inning and leaving Rodon in awe of the Yankees captain.

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While fellow outfielder Cody Bellinger did the damage at the plate by smashing three home runs against his former team, Judge remained immaculate in the outfield to shore up the defense. The AL MVP front runner made another spectacular diving catch in the eighth inning with runners in scoring position to keep the Cubs scoreless in the contest.

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Carlos Rodon thankful for Aaron Judge's stellar defensive effort

Aaron Judge's defensive plays in the outfield ensured a scoreless outing for Yankees starter Carlos Rodon. The All-Star ace, who pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits with eight strikeouts, hailed Judge's play in the eighth inning.

"That was a heck of a play. That was probably my favorite, obviously, saving some runs from me," Rodon said. "He was shading the gap on Tucker, kind of more right-center than right. He had to cover a lot of ground for a big guy like that and lays out for me and makes that play. It was big. It was big."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone echoed a similar sentiment for the two-time MVP.

"An elite right fielder," Aaron Boone said after the game. "He's just an outstanding athlete. Fundamentally, so sound out there. The throwing arm, the accuracy with that. And just, obviously, some really great plays tonight, and in an exclamation point on Carlos' night with a dive down the line there with two outs and two runners on. Just a big time defensive night for Judgey."

Friday's thumping win meant the Yankees have five victories on the trot and will be looking for consecutive series triumphs with a win on Saturday.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash