Yankees observations: Thoughts on Aaron Judge's homer-less skid as he returns to the Bronx

CHICAGO – As we leave the Windy City, a few items on the Yankees’ weekend in Chicago – concluding a 3-3 road trip that began at Texas and ended at Wrigley Field.

Here, the Cubs fans warmly treated their 2016 World Series hero and long-time Cub Anthony Rizzo with standing ovations.

Each day, Rizzo acknowledged their cheers by waving his helmet in salute before his first at-bat.

And on Thursday, before the series began, Rizzo - a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma survivor - did what he's always done in this town; visit the young cancer patients at Lurie Children's Hospital and provide them with encouragement.

"To put smiles on people's faces means more than anything I can do on a baseball field,'' Rizzo said.

Aaron Judge’s homer-less streak hits a dozen games

Visions of Aaron Judge matching or exceeding his single season AL record of 62 homers, set in 2022, have grown a bit distant in the last two weeks.

Since belting two homers Aug. 25, the Yankees’ captain has gone 12 games without a homer – his longest such streak this year.

August’s AL Player of the Month is batting .163 (7-for-43) over that span, with three doubles, three RBI, 10 walks (two intentional) and 18 strikeouts.

In a spot with first base open Sunday, Judge hit a bullet groundout to third base with a runner on second against Jameson Taillon.

“Probably missed a couple pitches where, when he’s really rolling, sticks in the seats,’’ said manager Aaron Boone, who declared Judge as “not far off at all’’ from his usual 2024 form.

After three straight days in center field at Wrigley, with the winds mostly swirling in, don’t be surprised to see Judge get a DH day as early as Monday night.

A Royal affair at Yankee Stadium

Three months ago, the Yankees took three of four games from the Royals at Kansas City - June 10-13.

Now, the Royals are firmly in the AL postseason picture and a potential Yankees opponent, led by a solid pitching staff and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., a challenge to Judge in the MVP picture.

Boone called Witt Jr., 24, “a budding superstar’’ on a club that sits 2.5 games behind first place Cleveland in the AL Central but currently has claim to the second AL wild card behind Baltimore.

“They are formidable,’’ Boone said of a Royals club (79-65) that has advanced from a 106-loss team in 2023. “They do a lot of things right.’’

Jon Berti arriving, DJ LeMahieu sinking on the depth chart

Late Sunday, the Yankees optioned speedy outfielder Duke Ellis to Triple-A.

Due to his base stealing dynamic (he swiped second in Sunday’s ninth inning, as a pinch-runner), Ellis is firmly in play for a postseason roster spot.

But for now, Jon Berti is due to assume Ellis’ roster spot.

Down the line, that means DJ LeMahieu is in danger of losing his postseason roster spot to the defensively versatile, right-handed hitting Berti, who can also steal bases.

Berti hasn’t played with the Yankees since late May, when he suffered a strained right calf.

Yankees' bullpen dynamic, with or without Clay Holmes in the ninth

After losing his hold – at least temporarily – on the closer’s role, Clay Holmes made his first appearance since yielding that walk-off grand slam Tuesday at Texas.

In a drama-free, scoreless eighth inning Sunday at Wrigley Field, Holmes used just 12 pitches in retiring all three batters, striking out two.

Boone remarked that both Holmes' sliders and sinker "were sharp'' Sunday, but the manager also indicated that he'd give Luke Weaver - who saved Friday's 3-0 win - another shot at a save opportunity.

Holmes might still be on hold for ninth inning chances, but he could still emerge as the Yanks' best choice for saves before long.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Yankees observations: Thoughts on Aaron Judge's homer-less skid as he returns to the Bronx