“I’m Going to F**K That Guy Up”: Alex Verdugo Caught Fuming on Video Over Aaron Judge Plunking, Signals Payback for Pitcher

After beating the Red Sox in the opening game, it seemed unimaginable to any Yankees fan that Aaron Judge’s Bronx Bombers would go down like that in the series. Yet, the fickle baseball gods and the ominous Green Monster at Fenway Park showed no mercy, as the Yankees lost the decisive rubber game – the first of six in 2024.

But it didn’t end there. Looking at the AL East standings, the Yanks were a mere three games above the Orioles, who were fresh from an offensively hot series against the Phillies. The Orioles, arguably the Yankees’ only competitors in the AL, were now Bronx-bound, in an extremely crucial clash, and the first game was entertaining, and tense, to say the least.

Aaron Judge is unequivocally among the strongest players in the big leagues, and his towering figure could scare any pitcher. Except, he’s not immune to pain. Bottom of the third, Aaron Judge became a victim to the Orioles’ errant control and took a 94mph fastball from Albert Suarez on his left hand.

The Yankees captain, typically not the most expressive player on the field, was more than visibly in immediate pain as he dropped his bat and death stared Suarez as he walked to first base. Aaron Judge decided to stay in the game, until he scored on Giancarlo Stanton’s RBI, and disappeared into the tunnel as the Yankees took a 2-0 lead.

In a teaser of relief to the fans at Yankee Stadium and on the internet, he made it back to the outfield in the top of the fourth and played the entire innings before Trent Grisham came to pinch-hit for him.

At that very moment, me included, Yankees Twitter stopped breathing.

Two innings later, in the fifth, Gleyber Torres was hit by another 94mph fastball. The guard worn by Gleyber helped him remain in the game till the end, but that was seemingly the final straw for the Yanks, who were hit twice by their most capable rivals.

A seething Alex Verdugo was far from pleased, especially after seeing his captain get hit. His anger quickly turned into a warning to Keegan Akin, O’s reliever who hit Gleyber.

“Just me and you… and after I’m done with you, I’m gonna f*** that guy up”

Yankees Twitter was riled up to. They wanted payback – an eye for an eye.

Nestor Cortes threw a spectacle scoreless six innings, followed by a solid bullpen performance. Though there was a small scare from Clay Holmes after conceding a two-run homer, the game ended with the Yankees winning 4-2. But celebrations were on hold until they heard positive news on Aaron Judge. Skipper Boone, who arrived midgame added to the suspense post-game with a cryptic remark that left fans uneasy: “We’ll see what we got and hopefully, we avoid something.”

Finally came the good news from Jack Curry, who reported that Aaron Judge is fine, with both the X-ray and CT scan coming back negative. But the Yankees captain wasn’t happy with what went down, and candidly admitted that he was “definitely pissed.”

Alex Verdugo unhappy with his boys getting hit, said, “We don’t take what happened lightly. These are our guys and, obviously, captains. It’s a big one for us. None of us are too pleased about it, but at the same time, I don’t believe it was intentional. A couple pitches got away from their guys.”

Just one game in, the series has already heated up more than one could imagine. The Yankees nearly faced the bittersweet exchange of welcoming back their ace while losing their star hitter to the IL. But for now, all’s well in New York with Gerrit Cole headed to the mound in less than 24 hours to make his season debut.