ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Aaron Judge was back on the field for the Yankees against the Rays on Saturday after missing the previous two games with pain on his left side.
But there is still not much clarity about Judge’s situation regarding ‘injury’.
After Judge had a hit and had two casualties in a 4-0 loss at Tropicana Field, manager Aaron Boone said the right fielder looked right.
Judge, who played last Tuesday, adjourned Wednesday’s game before the Yankees away day Thursday.
When asked what the judge said he was ready to return, Boone said, “Him.”
Despite the return of the judge, Boone said the Yankees “will keep a close eye on him. … We will definitely monitor how he moves.”
If Judge reports no problems, Boone said he expects to start again on Sunday.
There was, however, no answer to what happened to Judge in the first place.
“I think it was a gradual kind of workload,” Boone said. “Probably a lot of swinging, a lot of cage work done, which led to a soreness that developed over time.”
And that came in less than a week in the regular season.
Boone said Judge wants to play Friday, but the driver wants to be careful with the injury-prone veil, which has had ribs and slants in the past. The Yankees still did not specify exactly what Judge was dealing with. When he also missed the last three games of spring practice, the team said the first two were rest days and the third was because he was dealing with allergies.
“It’s always good to write his name in there,” Boone said. ‘We just try early to be careful with him [in the season], does not want it to become something that becomes a problem. Hopefully we can get to that. ”
Judge has been in each of his previous two games, but did not look comfortable on base or in the field on Wednesday.
Jay Bruce beat Ninth for the first time in his career on Saturday, passing 0-for-3 and extending his slump to 3-for-27. He is undefeated in 14 innings.
“In the first three or four games he had very good innings,” Boone said. ‘The last few games he has struggled a bit. This will happen during the season. He was a little off. ‘
On how Bruce plays on first base, Boone said, ‘I think he did a lot of good things there,’ but he needs more time to become plays for him ‘second nature.’ There is still room for growth. ”
Gio Urshela said he was ‘going to feel better’ after injuring himself on the COVID-19 list on Friday after an adverse reaction to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which made him feel a little weak on Thursday and Friday.
Clint Frazier, without a hit in 13 innings, did not start on Saturday, but Boone said it was ‘just a day’ [off], ”With left-wing Brett Gardner facing Array right-hander Chris Archer.
Boone said Frazier remains his first left fielder, adding that he does not think Frazier is ‘pushing’.
“It’s a few games, he’s struggled and is a bit down,” Boone said. ‘It’s part of the stream [of a season]. This is not something I’m worried about in the long run. He will get through this. ‘
Left-handed Justin Wilson, who was activated from the 10-day IL on Friday after being out with inflammation on his left shoulder, said he was ‘good’. He threw a pointless innings on Saturday.