MLB All-Star Game: Yankees' Aaron Judge bounces into forceout against Paul Skenes on first pitch of at-bat

ARLINGTON, Texas – The matchup just about everyone wanted to see, including both players, lasted all of one pitch.

Paul Skenes, the Pirates' seed-throwing rookie whose 11 electric outings to start his career got him tabbed to start Tuesday night’s All-Star Game for the National League, was asked Monday if he hoped to face Yankees centerfielder Aaron Judge, who leads the sport with 34 homers.

“Yeah,” the 22-year-old Skenes, 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA, said with a smile. “That would be cool.”

Judge, batting fourth in the AL lineup, said Monday he hoped to face Skenes as well.

After Judge’s teammate, Juan Soto, worked a seven-pitch walk, the crowd at Globe Life Field buzzed – and both dugouts perked up a bit – as Judge came to the plate.

The anticipation didn’t last long.

Judge, swinging at a first pitch 99.7 mph fastball, bounced into an inning-ending 5-4 force.

“You gotta be (aggressive) with a guy like that, that’s running it up to 100-plus with his pitches,” Judge said after coming out mid-game of what would be a 5-3 American League victory. “Juan did his job. He said he’d get on for me and he did. It was my job to try and barrel something up. But that was fun. It was a fun first inning. Got a chance to hit behind him [Soto], watch him doing his thing, battle against one of the young studs in the NL right now is pretty cool.”

The AL’s leadoff man, Steven Kwan of the Guardians, swung at Skenes' first pitch, a 98-mph fastball. Kwan eventually popped to short on a 99.9 mph fastball. Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson grounded back to Skenes on a 93.5 mph sinker, bringing Soto to bat.

The day before, during an appearance alongside Judge on MLB Network, Soto guaranteed a Judge-Skenes showdown, saying: “I’ll make sure he (Judge) faces him.”

Soto came through, taking a full-count, 100-mph fastball that arrived inside to earn the walk.

“I was trying to take him deep,” Soto, who took a couple of aggressive swings during the plate appearance, said with a laugh. “Definitely after two strikes, I was trying to work that at-bat because I wanted to make sure he (Judge) faced him too. So I got my job done.”

Soto got the job done again in the third inning, hitting a two-run double off Giants righthander Logan Webb that cut the AL deficit to 3-2. Soto, in his fourth All-Star Game, scored later in the inning on an RBI single by Cleveland’s David Fry to tie it at 3-3 (Shohei Ohtani’s three-run homer in the top of the inning off Boston righty Tanner Houck gave the NL a 3-0 lead).

The Mets’ lone All-Star, first baseman Pete Alonso, replaced the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman in the field in the bottom of the seventh and, in his only at-bat of the night, struck out swinging leading off the ninth against Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, who worked a scoreless ninth for the save.

The Yankees' third representative, closer Clay Holmes, an All-Star in 2022 at Dodger Stadium, did not appear in Tuesday’s game.

For Judge, who followed Soto in the third with another groundout to third base, Tuesday marked his fifth All-Star Game start (the outfielder made last year’s team but was injured). He’s appreciated them all, but this one held some additional significance for the 32-year-old, and not just because Judge hit his AL-record setting 62nd homer in this ballpark on Oct. 4, 2022 off the Rangers’ Jesus Tinoco.

It was because Judge started the game in centerfield, the position he played in college at Fresno State, the position that is far and away his favorite.

Going back to his rookie season, the 6-7, 282-pound Judge used to only half-joking politic then-manager Joe Girardi for time in center and he has chewed Aaron Boone’s ear about it pretty much from the time the latter was hired before the 2018 season. Judge has incrementally played center more in recent seasons and then, after the acquisition of Soto last winter, has played there almost exclusively this year.

Sunday in Baltimore, Judge told Newsday starting an All-Star Game in center as Yankee “means a lot” because of joining a somewhat exclusive list headed by Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.

“It means a lot,” Judge said. “Even going back to getting named Opening Day starter as a centerfielder, that meant a lot to me. And Boonie (manager Aaron Boone) knew it meant a lot to me. I think of some of the past Yankees centerfielders that were Opening Day starters and were All-Star starters, to be on that list and be in their company, that’s something special.”