NEW YORK – Another World Series game, another tough night for Aaron Judge. After going 0-for-3 with another strikeout in the New York Yankees’ Game 3 loss on Monday night, New York finds itself in a familiar situation: waiting for its star slugger to break out.

“He’s one hit away,” Yankees hitting coach James Rowson told ESPN on Monday. “I know it’s a big story, but from my perspective this guy is one of the best hitters to ever play the game. Every night the whole story is rewritten.”

But with the Los Angeles Dodgers just one win away from a World Series victory, New York’s superstar slugger is running out of options to flip the script. And those who watch the sport from the scouts’ seats, the executive offices or simply in front of the TV at home see a specific problem that needs to be solved: Judge is chasing too many pitches outside the zone, and LA is taking advantage .

“The Dodgers are feeding him spin, spin, spin, which he chases,” an American League scout told ESPN. “Then the fastball looks harder than it actually is, so it no longer has any timing. He needs to stop worrying about the big moment and just go with those sliders and get them to right field and the gap in right center field.”

Dealing with anything thrown with break or spin has been Judge’s Achilles heel throughout the postseason. According to ESPN Research, he is hitting just .071 in breaking pitches in October, compared to .258 in the regular season. His strikeout rate on these pitches is now a whopping 58.5%, compared to 39.8% from March to September.

Every time he hits a different breaking pitch to get a strikeout, the Dodgers can keep attacking with the same plan instead of having to challenge him with heat.

Judge still does damage with fastballs — when he sees them. He’s batting .364 with a 1.429 OPS against pitches thrown at 95 mph or faster in the playoffs, but so far this month Judge has seen 6% fewer fastballs than in the regular season, and he’s frustrated that not getting pitches he can drive is becoming increasingly obvious to observers.

“I think he might be pushing a little bit,” 2007 National League MVP Ryan Howard said on the field before Game 3. “Right now I think it’s just in his head. He knows what field they want to get him out on, and if you swing and miss, you have to force it somehow.

Despite the difficulties, Judge’s manager stands behind him. Boone made it clear that he isn’t considering moving Judge up or down the lineup: “That’s our guy, and in the series there’s pressure no matter what spot you hit.”

One NL manager agreed with Boone’s thinking: “If this were the regular season, I could see moving him to the managerial position to get him going, but I don’t think Boone should do that. At this time of year you have to believe. “Stick with your best players. He is the best of the best.

With the season looming, can Judge find his MVP form again? Patience could be the key.

“He needs to get them back in the zone or take a few walks,” the NL manager said. “How many does he have in the postseason?”

Judge has driven in eight runs this postseason but only twice in the last seven games after driving in an MLB-leading 133 runs in the regular season. But what might fire Judge up the most is more than just drawing free passes to first base — it’s about getting pitchers to come to him.

“Just wait and see The Pitch as long as it’s in the zone,” Howard said of the advice he would give Judge.

As the Yankees must accomplish the seemingly impossible — win four games in a row to complete a comeback in the World Series — Judge may finally be able to get the one pitch that gets him going.

“He’s big enough, strong enough to hit the ball from any part of the stadium,” said one NL scout. “He has to use the entire field. When he starts using the entire field and the middle, you’re going to see the Aaron Judge you’ve seen all year.”

The Yankees just have to hope they play long enough to experience it.