It was a rough weekend for Yankees slugger Aaron Judge at Fenway Park, as he had just one hit, Friday's game-tying homer, and struck out nine times. (AP photo)

BOSTON (AP) — Aaron Judge Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series at the Boston Red Sox.

“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1 for 12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.

“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

Judge had a game-tying solo homer in the opener on Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.

New York scored only four runs in the three-game set, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, from June 20-22, 1916 and from Sept. 28-30, 1922.

“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.

“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”

CORA’S KIDS MEET JUDGE

Red Sox manager Alex Cora wanted his twin 7-year-old sons to meet the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, the biggest star of his team’s AL East foe.

“They were like ‘No, no. He’s a rival,”’ the Boston manager recalled.

Cora persisted, mentioning players that have spent time with both teams, like Alex Verdugo.

Xander and Isander Cora got to meet the 6-foot-7 All-Star before Boston’s 4-3 win on Saturday night. The brothers wore Boston’s new alternate jerseys in Fenway green. Cora took a photo of the boys with Judge, who gave one of them a set of batting gloves.

“I only had one pair on me, so that’s all I could do,” Judge said, smiling.

“We’re rivals when we step on that field for 7 o’clock,” Judge told The Associated Press on Sunday morning. “He’s a dad. He’s got two sons that are big baseball fans, so I get the chance to meet them and talk a little baseball with them. … That’s another cool part of the job.”

Cora had been hoping for a while to set up the meeting.

“Last week, I texted him and said: ‘We need to do this, and he was like: ‘Just let me know,”‘ the manager said.

“I’m a fan of all these guys. These guys, they kick our butt and sometimes we do it to them,” Cora said. “At the end, we’re a fraternity. I’ve been watching him since 2017. I think last year, we started communicating. I’m in awe with everything that goes on with him because it’s (Shohei) Ohtani and Judge. They’re the faces of baseball. The way he conducts himself on and off the field.”

Cora said one of his sons is outspoken and the other is shy. Cora shared details of the get-together with his wife, Angelica.

“They were kind of like quiet in the beginning and then they were comfortable,” he said, before breaking into a laugh as he finished the story. “They called Angelica after the fact and said: ‘He’s shy. They called him shy.”

Judge was marking his first Father’s Day as a dad. His wife, Samantha, gave birth to Nora Rose on Jan. 27.

“Definitely, being a dad now, I look at it a little different,” the Yankees outfielder said of the meeting and signing autographs for fans after batting practice. “Just try to take maybe five minutes, six minutes out of my day. That’s a memory they get to have for a lifetime. Even for me, those are special moments I get to share with fans.”

Cora’s boys can expect a present. Another set of batting gloves, so there is one for each.

“He said he was going to send it,” Cora said. “They said: ‘He didn’t sign it.’ I said: ‘Don’t worry about it. You got the picture.’