Aaron Judge hears the boos, Yankees waste a splendid start by Nestor Cortes

NEW YORK – Before the added attraction of it being John Sterling Day, honoring the longtime Voice of the Yankees in a retirement ceremony, Saturday was Aaron Judge Bobblehead Day at Yankee Stadium.

Toward day’s end, some of the fans who’d lined up several hours ahead of a 1 p.m. start could be heard booing the Yankees’ captain, following his fourth strikeout of the afternoon.

That at-bat, against the Tampa Bay Rays’ Jason Adam, happened between warning track fly outs by Juan Soto and Anthony Rizzo, which was about all the noise made by the Yanks before 47,629 fans.

“I’ve heard worse,’’ said Judge, following the Rays’ 2-0, 10-inning victory.

Best effort by Nestor Cortes goes to waste

Judge said he probably would’ve had the same reaction in the stands, watching his 0-for-4 with four Ks, on a frustrating day in the Bronx.

Adding to their angst was a splendid performance by Nestor Cortes gone to waste, having blanked the Rays (12-10) for seven innings, with zero walks and nine strikeouts.

Where Rays starter Zach Eflin worked the corners over his six innings, followed by excellent relief, Cortes kept Tampa Bay guessing with his fastball-cutter mix.

Hearing some boos for Judge, “it’s always disappointing,’’ said Cortes, adding that “he’s going to come around…it’s just a matter of time.’’

Yet, if you’re inclined to see the imperfections in the Yanks’ 14-7 start, well this was your game.

Aaron Judge isn't the only Yankee under-performing

Take Judge, who is 2-for-20 with 12 strikeouts in his last 15 games, though one of his two hits keyed Wednesday’s late, 6-4 win at Toronto.

The seasonal snapshot has Judge at .179, with a .682 OPS, and you can guess what comes next: Is this just a random sample size that can be taken from any point in a season, or suggestive of an underlying issue.

Judge repeated, with brevity, that he’s “feeling great’’ physically, with nothing of last year’s right big toe injury, or last month’s core issue, affecting him.

Also, Judge insists that his swing “feels great,’’ and that the idea, more than ever in this new-and-improved Yankees lineup, is not to chase pitches and pass the torch to the next batter if necessary.

But the captain isn’t alone in the lack-of-production department.

Other than Juan Soto, Anthony Volpe and Oswaldo Cabrera, the Yankees regulars are underachieving offensively, and their collective .710 OPS isn’t much better than the .701 by last year’s fourth place team.

Judge served as the designated hitter Saturday.

Gleyber Torres, who was not in Saturday's starting lineup, is batting .195 with two RBI and 23 strikeouts in his first 21 games.

Alex Verdugo, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo are hovering in the low .230s and catcher Austin Wells is off to a 3-for-33 start after a solid spring training at the plate.

What's helped the Yankees have been timely hits in comeback wins and a 2.99 team ERA, limiting opponents to three runs or less in 13 of their first 21 games.

The need to get Gleyber Torres going

In his free agent walk year, Torres opened as the Yanks’ leadoff hitter with DJ LeMahieu (foot) on the injured list, but Boone felt he was pressing, replacing him with Volpe at the top.

After a strong spring training camp, “he’s missing some pitches…some pitches he’s really done damage with, he’s fouled off or swung through,’’ Boone said. “I feel all along he’s been close…but just hasn’t really caught fire, especially in the power department.’’

Boone sees the Torres issue as being “a matter of time’’ before it resolves, as with Judge.

“(He’s probably a little in and out of the zone,’’ said Boone, and Judge feels “it’s still early, it’s a long season.

“I think it’s a mix of everything,’’ including being pitched tough after Soto. “I’m still getting some pitches to hit, and I’ve got to capitalize on them, stay aggressive in the zone.’’

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Aaron Judge hears the boos, Yankees waste a splendid start by Nestor Cortes