Judge still searching for his ring as Yankees' title drought continues

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge walked slowly from first base to the Yankees dugout after Cody Bellinger ended the game with a strikeout, then turned his his head to watch the Toronto Blue Jays celebrate on New York's infield.

"You don’t like seeing it and it kind of leaves an impression," Judge said. "Make sure this doesn't happen next year."

New York's 16th consecutive season without a championship ended Wednesday night with a 5-2 loss to Toronto, which won the AL Division Series 3-1 and advanced to a pennant matchup against Seattle or Detroit.

An hour after the game, Giancarlo Stanton walked over to Judge, seated by his locker in the quiet clubhouse, and put a consoling arm around the captain's shoulder.

"Didn't execute when we needed to," Stanton told reporters a few minutes later. "Timely at-bats, timely pitches, we just didn't do it as well as they did."

Judge hit .500 with seven RBIs in seven postseason games, including .600 (9 for 15) with one homer, six RBIs, four walks and a 1.617 OPS against the Blue Jays. But a year after losing a five-game World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees are still looking for championship No. 28.

"This has been a tough year for me personally," manager Aaron Boone said after his eighth season without a title. "It's terrible. It hurts."

Now 33 and perhaps on the verge of his third AL MVP award, Judge has had eight unfulfilling trips to the playoffs in 10 big league seasons.

Instead of moving alongside Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter in adding to a the Yankees' championship collection, Judge remains in the same category as Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield — known for the absence of a ring on their fingers during their time in the Bronx.

"It doesn't mean it's not going to happen, and he and I wholeheartedly believe that it will," Boone said. "You keep working your tail off to get back to this position and punch through."

Judge won his first AL batting title by hitting .331 with 114 RBIs and 53 home runs — reaching 50 for the fourth time. He is on a Hall of Fame track with a .294 career average and 368 homers, and he has a .235 postseason average with 17 homers and 41 RBIs in 65 games.

"It's almost like we take it for granted because he only had 50-something homers and not 60," said Paul Goldschmidt, a seven-time All-Star who joined the Yankees for this season. "Took it to a whole new level. He's the best that I've ever been around. He's also just the greatest teammate I've been around, the best leader."

It is unclear whether Judge's right elbow, both of Stanton's elbows and shortstop Anthony Volpe's left shoulder might needs surgery.

"We'll do some work on it and get it right," Judge said.

Asked whether an operation might be needed, he responded: "I'm not a doctor. I don't know."

A year after an AL East title and a five-game World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees had a winning record for the 33rd straight season but finished second to Toronto in the division and rallied to win their best-of-three Wild Card Series against Boston after losing the opener.

New York was outscored 34-19 by the Blue Jays and outhomered 9-4, a surprise for an offense that led the major leagues with 274 homers and scored a big league high 50.2% of its runs on long balls, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

And just like last year, defense precipitated the demise. Second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. allowed Andrés Giménez's grounder to skip off his glove for an error instead of turning it into an inning-ending double play, and Nathan Lucas hit a two-out, two-run single off Devin Williams for a 4-1 lead in the seventh.

"Just missed it," Chisholm said an hour after the final out. "Been thinking about that since the play happened, still thinking about it now. Still can’t get out of my head."

Judge's supporting cast needs a remake. New York’s 4.37 bullpen ERA ranked 23rd out of 30 teams. The team's 7-8-9 batters combined to hit just .224 with a .687 OPS. Volpe batted .212 during the season and .192 in the playoffs with 16 strikeouts in 26 at-bats.

"I'm sure there will be a lot of sleepless nights," Volpe said.

Goldschmidt and outfielder Trent Grisham can become free agents along with Williams, Luke Weaver, Tim Hill and Ryan Yarbrough plus pitcher Paul Blackburn, infielder Amed Rosario and outfielder Austin Slater.

Bellinger is likely to turn down his $25-million player option in favor of a $5-million buyout, and the Yankees probably will decline a $5 million option on oft-injured right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga.

"It just sucks for the guys that this might be their last time wearing pinstripes, not getting a chance to have a long run with them and getting the championship," Judge said.

He urgently wants to keep chasing that ring.

"I want to get back out there right now," Judge said. "I wish spring training was in a couple of weeks so we can kind of get this going."