The New York Yankees will not fully exhale until Aaron Judge’s name appears on the lineup card.
After Judge left Thursday’s game with some right hip discomfort, the slugger is unlikely to play Friday night when the Yankees continue a four-game series against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas.
Judge’s early exit overshadowed New York’s 4-2 win in the series opener that featured 6 2/3 innings from ace Gerrit Cole along with solo homers by DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres and Jose Trevino. Judge came out in the fourth inning after appearing to grimace when he struck out in the second, a frame in which the Yankees scored three times.
Manager Aaron Boone did not provide much of an update on Judge, but in what seems like good news said no tests were scheduled on the slugger as of Thursday night. After Boone’s comments, Judge said he expected to miss the next few days but added that he was not concerned.
“Just a little grab in the hip area,” Judge said. “After that headfirst dive the other night, kind of the whole right side has been a little locked up. It wasn’t until the second-to-last swing in that at-bat that I kind of felt something grab.”
Judge’s injury stemmed from the second inning of the Yankees’ 12-6 win in Minnesota on Wednesday. After hitting a bases-clearing double in a five-run second inning, Judge was thrown out trying to steal third when he landed awkwardly on a headfirst slide.
“I don’t like taking our guy out, but we’ll see,” Boone said. “We’ll see what we have here the next couple of days.”
Whoever is in the lineup, the Yankees will attempt to earn their third straight win after scoring 16 runs in the past two games. In the prior three contests, New York was held to four runs total as it endured its first three-game losing streak of the season.
The Rangers are on their first four-game losing streak under new manager Bruce Bochy. The skid began immediately after they won six of seven, including three games in which they scored at least 12 runs.
Texas struck out 10 times Thursday against Cole and Michael King and has fanned 43 times over the past four games.
Clarke Schmidt (0-2, 6.30 ERA), who is coming off the best of his five outings, will start for the Yankees on Friday.
In a 5-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, Schmidt allowed three unearned runs in a career-high 5 2/3 innings. He give up a two-run homer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a solo shot to Daulton Varsho in the sixth after an error by shortstop Anthony Volpe.
Schmidt’s lone appearance against the Rangers occurred last Oct. 4, when he pitched two perfect innings.
Jacob deGrom (2-0, 3.04 ERA), who has a 1.57 ERA in his past four starts, will start for Texas. He last pitched Sunday, when he tied his season high with 11 strikeouts and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits over six innings during a 5-2 win over Oakland.
The right-hander threw 80 pitches against the Athletics after leaving his previous start due to a sore wrist.
“I felt good,” deGrom said postgame. “I came out of the one before this a little early out of precaution but felt really good today, so that was a huge plus. I think (I’m rounding into form).”
In six career starts against the Yankees, deGrom is 2-4 with a 3.51 ERA, though he hasn’t faced them since 2018.
–Field Level Media