Yankees manager Aaron Boone blames the Wind for defeating Aaron Judge that could be his home run at ALCS Game 2

The New York Yankees lost again to Houston Astros Thursday night, they lost the game 3-2 to put themselves in a 2-0 hole in the MLS Series Best of Seven. They hit 13 times, bringing that number to 30 for the series, leaving nine men at the base. But for a moment late in the game, there was hope. In the eighth inning, Aaron Judge hit a fly ball into the right field that appeared heading into the stands until Kyle Tucker repels it against the wall:

Had the Judge ball turned into a trophy, as 62 of them did during the regular season, the Yankees would have had a 4-3 lead. There’s no guarantee they’ll achieve victory – the Astros had six teams to work with – but the potential swing in the outcome made it a popular topic of conversation afterwards.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided his highlight of the evening quote, saying he thought the judge would have had success on his home grounds had it not been for the crosswinds generated by the opening of the Minute Maid Park’s retractable roof. (Boone noted that wind thwarted one of Tucker’s hits earlier in the night.)

“I think the open roof kind of killed us. I think it’s 390 [foot] ball,” Boone said as part of his post-match media availability.

The judge, for his part, said he didn’t think the ball would be going home because of the wind. “You hit the wrong part of the park for sure.”

How true is Boone’s comment? This depends on your calculations. The judge’s battered ball speed was 106.3 miles per hour and the projected distance was 345 feet, or 19 feet, behind the right field wall at Minute Maid Park. However, MLB.com’s Sarah Langes noted that Statcast indicated the ball would be a home run in just one park: fittingly enough, Yankee Stadium.

Analyst Devan Fink came to a different conclusion. He noted that similarly hit volleys traveled an average of 414 feet during the regular season, and even those that went into the opposite field (like Judge’s) were about 395 feet away. Judge didn’t even need that many in order to give the Yankees a late lead.

Different methodologies and approaches will lead to different answers. fair enough.

Of course, none of that matters. The ball did not go out. The Yankees cannot travel back in time and require that the roof be closed. They weren’t the only team that got weathered, either. The Astros were, too, and they fared well. The judge’s ball came in what could be a pivotal moment in exactly how baseball goes at times. It’s a pity if you’re a fan of Yankees or Yankees, it’s fortunate that you are a fan of Astros or Astros.

With all that said, the Yankees have bigger problems to work on on Friday’s travel day than wind calculations. Through two matches, they successfully hit 30 out of 65 hitters. (Conversely, The Astros have only hit eight times.) If the Yankees are going to return to this series, they will need to find a way to put wood on the ball frequently.