Yankees star Aaron Judge was removed from New York’s 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles early Tuesday after taking a fastball to the hand while at the plate.
Fortunately for the Yankees, Judge appears to have avoided a major injury.
Judge was ready to strike in the third inning at Yankee Stadium when a fastball from Orioles starter Albert Suarez pierced his hand. The judge was shaken at this point, and he jumped a little while holding his fingers before walking towards the first one.
Judge stayed in the game and took the field in the top of the fourth inning. At first, it seemed like he had avoided injury altogether.
When Judge was scheduled to come to the plate in the bottom of the inning, the Yankees removed him from the game. Trent Grisham came to hit him in his place.
The reruns of the hit don’t look great. Judge seemed to take the ball directly to his left little finger at the bottom of the bat, and he seemed to have difficulty shaking his hand with the athletic trainers.
The judge underwent initial tests at a local hospital on Tuesday. He confirmed after the match that he did not fracture his left hand and that all tests were negative. The decision to remove him from the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, was made as a precaution.
Although tests came back negative, it’s unclear how long Judge might be out. He said he hopes to be able to play Wednesday.
“It’s a big relief,” Judge said. “Just getting hit a few years ago and breaking your wrist, you never know what’s going to happen. Finding out it’s not fractured or broken is definitely a sigh of relief …I told Boone I wanted to be in there tomorrow, so we’ll see.
The Yankees held a 3-0 lead over the Orioles when Judge was removed from the game. He entered Tuesday with a .299 batting average with 26 homers and 64 RBIs in 73 games this season, his ninth in the league.
Judge’s injury is the second significant injury for the Yankees in recent days. They lost first baseman Anthony Rizzo for at least two months after he fractured his arm in an embarrassing collision during their loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
Despite losing Judge early, the Yankees held on to earn a two-run victory over the Orioles. After the Yanks took a 4-0 lead, Anthony Santander hit a two-run homer for the Orioles in the ninth inning, but that was as close as they got.
The Yankees hold a 51-24 record, good for first place in the AL East. The Orioles have lost three of their last five games and are 2.5 games behind the Yankees in the division.
News Source : sports.yahoo.com
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