The Astros didn’t let Aaron Judge’s troll of Jose Altuve go without a response.
Catcher Martin Maldonado hit a solo home run off Jameson Taillon in the third inning Sunday and after rounding third, pulled his collar down as if to show he wasn’t wearing a buzzer — as many suspected Altuve might have been when he hit a walk-off home run against the Yankees in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS.
On Saturday, Judge offered a tribute to Altuve’s memorable homer when he tugged at his jersey before touching third — mocking Altuve telling his teammates not to rip off his jersey after the playoff winner. While Altuve was suspected of wearing a buzzer to alert him what pitches were coming, in the wake of the Astros’ sign-stealing program from 2017, an MLB investigation found no evidence of the buzzer.
Judge played coy Saturday night when asked about the jersey pull.
“Whenever they keep the roof closed here it’s pretty chilly,” Judge said with a straight face of Minute Maid Park. “So it’s just letting my team know to button up a little bit.”
Astros manager Dusty Baker was not a fan of Judge’s celebration.
“I noticed what he did,” Baker told reporters Sunday morning. “That was wrong. That’s my homeboy. But that was wrong. Hey man, people can do what they want to do. He’s one of the biggest, baddest dudes out there.”
The Yankees further played out that bit on Sunday. After Tim Locastro hit a solo homer in the fourth inning, Rougned Odor greeted him at the dugout with a jacket. The temperature at first pitch inside the dome was 73 degrees.
