New York Yankees star Aaron Judge was pulled from a 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles early Tuesday night after he took a fastball into his hand while at the plate.
Fortunately for the Yankees, Judge appears to have avoided a major injury.
Judge was ready to bat in the third inning at Yankee Stadium when a fastball from Orioles outfielder Albert Suarez drilled him in the hands. The judge was clearly shaken at that moment, and jumped slightly while holding his fingers, before walking to first place.
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.
But by the time Judge was due on the next plate in the bottom of the inning, the Yankees pulled him from the game. Instead, Trent Gresham came out to beat him.
Replays don’t look great. Judge seemed to take the ball directly to his left pinky finger under the racket, and he seemed to really struggle with the pressure on his hand with the coaches.
Al-Qadi underwent initial testing at a local hospital on Tuesday night. He confirmed after the match that he had not suffered a fracture in his left hand, and that all tests were negative. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the move to remove him from the game was taken as a precaution.
While the tests came back negative, it is unclear how long the judge might be sidelined. He said he hopes to be able to play on Wednesday.
“It’s very gratifying,” the judge said. “Just getting beat up there a couple of years ago and breaking my wrist, you never know what’s going to happen. And knowing it’s not broken, not broken, is definitely a sign of relief… I told Boone I want to be out there tomorrow, so we’ll see.”
The Yankees took a 3-0 lead over the Orioles at the time Judge was pulled from the game. Judge entered Tuesday night with a .299 batting average with 26 home runs and 64 RBI in 73 games this season, his ninth in the league.
Judge’s injury is the second major injury in recent days for the Yankees. They were missing 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 pull off a doubleheader over the Orioles late Tuesday night. After jumping out to a 4-0 lead, he hit a two-run homer for the Orioles in the ninth inning. However, this was the closest they had come.
The Yankees now hold a 51-24 record, good for a first in the AL East. The Orioles have lost three of their last five games, and trail the Yankees by 2.5 games in the division standings.
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