It doesn’t get much better than this. On the brink of elimination, the New York Yankees forced a decisive Game 3 in the American League Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox — setting the stage for a winner-take-all showdown between baseball’s most storied rivals at the Cathedral of Baseball on Thursday night.
The pressure is on for everyone involved, but no one feels it more than Aaron Judge. Not only is the season on the line — so is his legacy. Amid perhaps the most dominant prime ever seen from a right-handed hitter, No. 99 has yet to deliver his signature postseason moment. And in the Bronx, regular-season accolades mean little without October glory.
Can Judge come through when the lights are brightest and propel the Yankees past their greatest rival and into an ALDS battle with the Toronto Blue Jays?
First pitch at Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET. New York enters as a -163 moneyline favorite, with the total set at 7.5 runs. But before this historic rivalry writes its next chapter, here’s my favorite Aaron Judge player prop bet on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Best Aaron Judge prop bet for AL Wild Card Game 3
Judge knows what’s at stake — and so far, he’s playing like it. The Yankee captain hasn’t yet flexed his signature light-tower power, but he’s gone 4-for-8 with four singles and just two strikeouts in the series, adding a go-ahead RBI in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s victory. He’s already notched hits off ace Garrett Crochet and flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman — two of the most dominant arms in the sport.
On Thursday, he’ll face rookie southpaw Connelly Early — and the matchup couldn’t be more favorable for Judge.
Early, Boston’s No. 6 prospect, has been electric since his major league debut on Sept. 9. Through four starts, the southpaw has posted a 2.33 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP and 29 strikeouts, showing swing-and-miss stuff and keeping hard contact to a minimum.
But at just 23 years and 182 days old, Early will become the youngest pitcher to start a postseason game since Babe Ruth in 1916 — and the first in MLB history to start an elimination game within a month of his major league debut. That’s a lot of pressure to carry into Yankee Stadium.
Enter the best hitter in the sport.
Judge doesn’t show rookies any mercy — just ask fellow Red Sox first-year Hunter Dobbins. Ahead of Dobbins’ first start against the Yankees on June 8, Judge was hitting .591 with a 2.080 OPS and six home runs against rookie pitchers in 2025. Judge took Dobbins deep on the first pitch he saw, parking his four-seamer in the Yankee Stadium bleachers.
He hasn’t been kind to lefties this year, either. In 161 plate appearances vs. southpaws, Judge is hitting .341 with 16 homers, leading the league with a video game-esque 1.279 OPS and 225 wRC+.
The Red Sox spent most of their bullpen budget in Game 2, and they’re going to rely on Early to go as deep into the game as possible — and Judge could be waiting for just one mistake to deliver his long-awaited October moment.
