Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I think this may be the only time Yankees fans will look back with optimism on the Red Sox’s comeback in 2004.

In today’s SI:AM:

😴 The Yankees’ quiet hitters
🔥 Walker Buehler steps forward
🏈 NFL power rankings

The New York Yankees are looking at a possible World Series win after losing Game 3 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Bronx on Monday night as New York’s offense faltered again.

The Yankees’ struggles at the plate were the story of this series, and while it was a theme for the entire cast, the focus was rightly on star slugger Aaron Judge. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in Monday’s 4-2 loss, making him 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts in the series. After having one of the best regular seasons of any hitter in baseball history, he was ice cold throughout the postseason. He has now played 12 games in October and is 6-for-43 (a .140 batting average) with two home runs and 20 strikeouts.

There is no batsman in the world who is immune to occasional slumps. Judge’s weak point as a hitter is his relatively high strikeout rate, which is to be expected for a power hitter. He scored a strikeout in 24.3% of his appearances this season, ranking in the bottom 35% of the league. But the strikeout rate isn’t a problem if the other aspects of Judge’s game are working. That’s the problem for him at the moment. Not only has he had a strikeout in 37% of his plate appearances this postseason, he has also walked just 14.8% of the time after leading the majors with an 18.9% walk rate in the regular season . His walk in the eighth inning Monday night was his first since Game 4 of the ALCS.

The judge’s tendency to snoop is rarely a problem because when he makes contact, he causes harm. At least that’s what he usually does. This postseason, however, Judge hasn’t done much when he puts the ball in play. He only has six hits, including two home runs.

That easily makes this October one of the worst stretches of Judge’s career. He didn’t have a 12-game stretch with at least 20 strikeouts and six or fewer hits since 2017his rookie year. He’s prone to occasional blackouts — he even had a 16-game home run-less streak in late August and early September of this year — as well as periods where he strikes out frequently, but it’s rare for the two to coincide like this. There were only two periods in Judge’s career when he had such problems: a 13-game stretch from July 29 to August 12, 2017, in which he batted .207 with 21 strikeouts and two home runs, and a 23 game stretch from August 15 to September 11, 2016, in which he batted .153 with 38 strikeouts and one homer.

Everyone wants to know what’s causing Judge’s postseason woes. Is it just unfortunate timing that he’s faltering when his team needs him most? Is it a mechanical problem? A product of exposure to harder pitching? Or is it the pressure of the bright lights? Whatever the reason, the Yankees’ 3-0 deficit means it’s probably too late for Judge’s turnaround to save their season. It will be another long winter filled with questions about his ability to make it on the big stage.

…things I saw last night:

5. Steven Adams Lift Keldon Johnson lift off the ground while fighting for a loose ball.
4. Jason Zuckers Baseball style goal for the Sabres. At least someone in New York State managed to make solid contact last night.
3. Calvin Austin III’s 73-yarder Punt return touchdown.
2. Freddie Freeman Home run in the first inning. That’s five straight World Series games with a home run for Freeman, tying George Springer’s record.
1. The perfect throw from Teoscar Hernández to put Giancarlo Stanton in his place. (Should the Yankees’ third base coach have sent the hobbled Stanton home with a sharply hit ball to left? That’s another story.)