Yankees - 9, Blue Jays - 6
Q. How were you able to keep that ball fair there in that fourth inning, and did you know off the bat that it was going to stay fair?
AARON JUDGE: I felt like I made good contact, and I thought we had a chance. You just never know with the wind, if it's going to push it foul, going keep curving or not. But I guess a couple ghosts out there helped kind of keep that fair.
Q. Tim Hill just said in the clubhouse he can't even wrap his head around how you were able to hit that in that moment, that the energy went through his entire body when the stadium erupted. How would you describe the feeling you got when you saw that was staying fair and you tied things up here in this win-or-go-home situation?
AARON JUDGE: The boys were hyped up, locked in all game. I know we were kind of down there early, but the energy in that dugout and what we were bringing was we knew we were going to go out there and just leave it all on the field. Getting a chance, we knew we were going to try to come back there. And getting a chance to tie it up like that, I liked our chances going into it, especially with our bullpen and our guys down there and the way our offense has kind of been rolling.
Q. How gratifying was it for you to have this kind of monstrous performance in an elimination game in your home ballpark?
AARON JUDGE: It's great. Just trying to just do my job, what I've been trying to do all year. Not trying to do too much. Guy's on base, drive him in. If no one's on base, try to get a rally going. That's all you can do, especially in front of our fans. They were getting restless there a little bit down 6-1, but they erupted when we tied it up and took the lead.
Q. During the pitching change from Fluharty to Varland. It looked like you were consulting with Stanton before that at-bat. What was that conversation like?
AARON JUDGE: Big G saw him in Toronto. I asked him, I hadn't seen Louis since he was with the Twins and was a starter. I wanted a brush up. I've seen all the videos, seen all the appearances, but it's a difference when you step in the box and see him live. So I was talking to him about what certain pitches were like, what it felt like.
Any info you can get like that kind of helps you sharpen your game plan a little bit and kind of gets you locked in a little bit better.
Q. According to Sarah Langs, that's the first time a pitch that was 1.2 feet inside and 99-plus miles per hour was hit for a home run. What did you like about that pitch? Why did you swing at that pitch?
AARON JUDGE: I don't know. I get yelled at for swinging at them out of the zone, but now I'm getting praised for it. It's a game. You've got to go out there and play. I don't care what the numbers say or where something was at, I'm just up there trying to put a good swing on a good pitch, and it looked good to me.
Q. What's it about sort of the team seems to go as you go? What do you boil that down to?
AARON JUDGE: Well, hitting in the middle of the order, if you're getting out all the time, it kind of puts a funk on things. So I'm getting on base, kind of making things move -- hitting's contagious, that's all this game is. Momentum is contagious, hitting is contagious. So if I'm in the middle of the order, I've got to find a way to get on base and get that next guy up there and keep things rolling. If I'm up there getting out, it kind of puts a rut in things.
Like I said, if no one's on base, try to get on base. If people are out there, try to drive them in. Just keep it simple.
Q. Can you just explain mechanically what it takes to get to a pitch like that and the work that goes into that behind the scenes?
AARON JUDGE: We'd be here all night. We'd be here all night. Yeah, I know Varland's got a great fastball. He'll run up to 101, 102, and good feel for his off-speed pitches too. It's really just about -- I really don't know. You're just in the moment. Just trust your eyes, trust your swing. I feel like I can get to every pitch in the zone.
I think the biggest thing is just being ready on time. I think it's all timing. That's what a lot of hitting comes down to. If you're not ready to swing and ready early, you're not going to hit anything. After he blew my doors off on the pitch before, I said just get ready, see a good pitch, and drive it.
Q. I know it's still pretty fresh, but when you think about a moment like that, what is the image that sticks in your head? Is it the ball hitting the pole? Is it looking at your teammates? Is it rounding third? Is it going back through the dugout? As you sit here now and you think about that, what sticks with you?
AARON JUDGE: I think my teammates. Ball's in the air, it's kind of silent. You've got a lot of unknown. But then right when it hits the pole, I'm looking straight at my teammates and all the guys that have been battling with me all year long, battling for this moment, they kind of get back in the game. They were out there grinding, giving it their all. So that's the first people I look to seeing their excitement was pretty special.
Especially a guy like Carlos Rodón, he was top step there. He's a guy that's picked us all year long, and I know he went out there and didn't have his best game. But I told him earlier when he came out today, we're going to pick you up. Don't worry about it. You've been picking us up all year. Happy we could do that.
Q. I know you said it kind of just looked good to you, but I'm curious how did the count affect the swing you got off on that pitch? Is that a pitch you take the same swing on 1-1 or if you're ahead in the count or down like you were?
AARON JUDGE: He's got all the leverage. Saw the slider, fouled it off, then blew me away with the heater. He's got all the leverage, so he's probably in attack mode is what I'm thinking. You've got to attack that head on. You can't be passive or try to be scared in the box. You've just got to trust your play and trust your guts and kind of see what happens.
He's a great pitcher. He's been a great pitcher in his career so far. He's a guy that -- I wish I could throw at 102 miles an hour. It's pretty impressive. So just trying to go up there and do my job and see what happens.
Q. I realize you set the American League record, but was tonight the biggest home run of your life? If so, why? If not, why not?
AARON JUDGE: Probably my biggest home run was my first one in the Big Leagues, I guess. You finally make it to the show, and you don't know if you're good enough or not. No matter what happened after that day, I can say I hit a homer in the Big Leagues.
No. Tonight was special, but there's still more work to be done. Hopefully we have some more cool moments like this the rest of the postseason. We've got another big game tomorrow night. Maybe we can do something special tomorrow night and talk to all of you all one more time before we head back up north.
Yeah, I think the first one is always the best one.
Q. Aaron, you said that while you were waiting for the ball to hit the pole, it was silent. That wasn't my experience of the stadium. When did the noise turn back on for you, and is that always how you experience those moments?
AARON JUDGE: It turned back on probably when I was getting close to third or getting close to home. You just got so much adrenaline pumping and you're so locked in on the moment. You really don't hear anything. The noise is probably so loud it's deafening.
Like I said, I was locked in on my teammates, locked in on the ball. You're kind of floating around the bases. Before you know it, you're back in the dugout and the moment's over and it's time to cheer on the next guy.
Yeah, it's pretty cool in the moment, but then it's over with and you've got another job to do.
Q. You also made two really good running catches. Could you in particular talk about the fifth inning catch you made, the diving catch?
AARON JUDGE: Yeah, it's a tough one slicing in. I know there's a guy on base there, but just in my head I'm just praying it stays up long enough. I know it's going to topspin on me a little bit, but I know I've just got to get dirty for it and lay it all out there.
Just in those moments you can't be afraid. You've got to be on offense even though you're on defense. You've got to attack the ball at all times. Just trying to make a play for my pitcher. That was about it.
Q. Could you take us in the dugout when Jazz hit the go-ahead homer?
AARON JUDGE: We were excited. We could feel the momentum switch a little bit. That's a great ball club over there. They've been rolling all series. To get out there and tie it back up, we felt like we had the ball in our court at that time. Jazz, he was having good at-bats all game. I talked to him. I don't think he had a hit yet, but I was just talking to him, hey, man, you're having great at-bats. Stay right there, stay aggressive. You got two more big ones.
Once he sends that one in the seats, it's like, all right, let's try to add on because you know those guys can put a four spot on you at any moment. Happy with how the offense responded and pitching staff responded, and live to see another day.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports