Aaron Judge finding his way again as Yankees coast to victory

NEW YORK – Here was another sign of the Yankees’ mostly charmed April, and a signal that Aaron Judge had moved a little closer to form.

The captain was struck out in Wednesday’s first inning…until he wasn’t.

As he delivered a 1-2 pitch, Oakland Athletics’ starter Joe Boyle was called for a balk, nullifying his third strike, and bringing Judge back up for another swing.

So, Judge launched Boyle’s next pitch over the right field wall, a two-run homer that started the Yankees toward a 7-3 win before 31,191 fans on a fun night for the home team.

“Warm and fuzzy’’ was how manager Aaron Boone described watching Judge and Juan Soto connect, plus Anthony Rizzo homered for the second straight night.

Judge also grounded a single and lined out sharply to center, a better sign of coming out of a 4-for-31 spin, with 16 strikeouts entering Wednesday, though Tuesday’s at-bats showed more promise.

As for getting another chance after Boyle’s balk, Judge recognized it was “a quick pitch,’’ but “I didn’t really know what was going on,’’ until Soto began waving him back to the batter’s box.

Judge, Soto homer for the first time in the same game as teammates

Wednesday marked the first time both Judge and Soto homered as teammates in the same game, and Judge felt Boone’s “warm and fuzzy’’ reaction was a great line.

“After every win, I feel warm and fuzzy,’’ said Judge. “It was a good all-around team win, guys had great at-bats.’’

Soto walked before the Judge homer, and he also produced a sacrifice fly, while Austin Wells deftly bunted for a hit – snapping a personal 0-for-23 skid – and later singled sharply.

Wells also caught a pretty good game from starter Clarke Schmidt, whose final pitch was clobbered for a sixth-inning, three-run homer by Brent Rooker, cutting the lead to 5-3.

Until then, Schmidt had followed the Yankees’ spring script, with a 2.95 staff ERA entering Wednesday, the Yanks’ best to start any season since 1982.

Sharp relief by Luke Weaver, with 2.2 scoreless innings, set up the Yankees (17-8) for their seventh series win out of eight this year, with a victory against Oakland (9-16) in Thursday’s series finale.

But it seemed like Judge’s day from the start, including a late morning participation in a ceremony nearby, across from the Bronx Children’s Museum.

Aaron Judge begins the day with a Bronx ceremony

Three murals of Yankees players, created by Bronx-born artist Andre Trenier, were unveiled Wednesday, including one depicting Judge and fellow Northern Californian CC Sabathia, who was also on hand.

The project, “Exhibiting Possibilities: Legendary Yankees,’’ is a joint outdoor exhibit by the museum and The Players Alliance, “designed to inspire children and families throughout the Bronx and beyond.’’

Other murals depict Reggie Jackson and Willie Randolph, and Derek Jeter with his boyhood idol Dave Winfield.

“(It’s) a reminder of their greatness, and the whole purpose is the motivation and inspiration of today’s youth, that you can do this,’’ said Yankees GM Brian Cashman. “You can do anything you want, if you get after it and commit yourself to it.’’

A few hours later, Judge passed Jeter, the previous Yankees captain, for sole possession of ninth place on the franchise’s all-time home run list with No. 261.

“An amazing career,’’ Judge said of Jeter, though his thoughts Wednesday were also on another DJ, with news of a setback in DJ LeMahieu’s comeback from a non-displaced foot fracture.

“DJ’s a big part of this team,’’ Judge said of the veteran infielder, who could be out another three-to-four weeks, at minimum, due to residual inflammation.

“The most important thing for him is getting healthy,’’ said Judge. “We roll when we’ve got a healthy DJ.’’

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Aaron Judge finding his way again as Yankees coast to victory