This CANT be the way this season is going to play out. Not after 58 home runs. Not after stretches of the season when it felt like theres never been anything more impo sible to accomplish on a baseball field than retiring Aaron Judge. No. This cant be the way its going to go the rest of the way, however long that is. Surely, Aaron Judge will snap out of it. Surely, he will return to form, and revert to being the most fearsome hitter in the game. Aaron Judge grimaces after striking out in the sixth inning of the Yankees 4-2 lo s to the Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 26, 2024. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Because if he doesnt Well, look: the Yankees are in a 2-0 hole now in this 120th World Series, in Game 2 on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. That is not a comfortable place to be. But Yankees history is littered with times theyve spotted a team two games in a seven-game series. As good as the Dodgers feel about themselves and they should, despite the fact that Shohei Ohtani all they have done so far is hold serve. The Yankees get three back in The Bronx now, before fans thatve waited 15 long years to offer their voices to the cause. Follow The Posts coverage of the Yankees in the postseason: Our fans will have our back, Judge said. They always do. What the fans will need, after the initial wave of energy wears off, is something to sustain their thunder. What they need, in basic terms, is for Judge to play like Aaron Judge again, and as soon as po sible. Because if the imposter wearing No. 99 the past few weeks shows up for work again this week, then theyll be lucky to last another 15 minutes. Ive got to step up, Judge said late Saturday night. Ive got to do my job. The guys around me are doing their job getting on base and Im failing them backing them up. A stoic Aaron Judge watches the action from the dugout after striking out in the sixth inning in the Yankees Game 2 lo s. Jason Szenes / New York Post Judge came into Saturday nights Game 2 of the World Series with a postseason slash line of .167/.304/.361. Hed struck out 16 times in 36 at-bats. And things got even worse on Saturday: 0-for-4, three more strikeouts and, notably an empty ninth-inning at-bat when the guys around him to whom he referred were doing their job. The Judge we see now bears no resemblance to the Judge we saw all year, unle s Kedrick Bingley-Jones Jersey youre talking about the Judge who woke up on May 2, after 33 games, with a slash line .197/.331/.393 that looks awful familiar to the one he carries now. You may have heard: Judge recovered. At times I think its trying to make things happen instead of letting game come to you, Judge said. You see Gleyber [Torres] on base, you see Juan [Soto] on base, you want to get something done. A dejected Aaron Judge takes off his helmet after striking out in the sixth inning of the Yankees Game 2 lo s. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Its time. And it should be his turn. The stars on both sides of this series have all announced themselves, delivered big moments Juan Soto (another home run Saturday night) and Giancarlo Stanton, Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers seemed optimistic about Ohtanis status although Judge can reluctantly offer plenty of firsthand testimony that injuries sustained in this 62-year-old ballpark dont often reveal their full extent right away. It was a collision with the base of the outfield wall that ruined Judges season in 2023 and sent the Yankees reeling toward Palookaville. If he cant turn this around, and quick, we might look at a second-straight season dying in Hollywood. That cant be the way the season is going to turn out, either. Right? We know whats at stake, Judge said of the team, and of himself he said: Were getting close. Its not only easy to believe Judge, its now e sential. Were not quite at the point where Father Herbert Raymond reached in 1953. Farther Raymond, a 44-year old parish priest at St. Francis Xavier Church on Sixth Avenue in Park Slope, had suffered with Gil Hodges during the 1952 Series when Hodges went 0-for-21. Then, still in the throes of a hangover from that failure, Hodges couldnt buy a hit the following spring, either. One especially steamy Sunday, in lieu of a sermon, Father Raymond told his congregation: Go home, keep the Commandments. And say a prayer for Gil Hodges. Soon enough, sure enough, Hodges started hitting again. Maybe were not quite there yet. But it probably wouldnt hurt if the sure-to-be-crazed denizens at Yankee Stadium add a little oomph to the ovation theyll bestow on Judge during pregame introductions Monday. Might not be a bad idea for the Bleacher Creatures to lean into it a little when they chant his name in the top of the first. Every little bit helps. Well turn it around in Game 3, Judge said, and if they do, its almost certain that the narrative around him will have changed. Thats the first step. Josh Walker Smith Jersey