Tuesday, June 18, saw Aaron Judge leave the Yankees game against the Baltimore Orioles after he was hit by a pitch.
Judge swung his left hand at a 1-2 pitch to begin the third inning. The Yankees training staff came out to check on him, and the captain of the team tossed the bat away instantly. In the end, he continued to play, coming around to score on a single by Giancarlo Stanton. Judge filled in as centerfielder for the following inning, and in the fourth, Trent Grisham pinch batted for him. That was a 3-0 Yankees lead.
The confrontation between the two best clubs in the American League East has been overshadowed by the event. Although the Orioles led New York by 1.5 games going into the game, Baltimore has closed the gap thanks to a 5-5 record over their previous ten games.
The Yankees’ team physician will assess Judge following his MRI procedure on Tuesday night, according to YES Networks’ Meredith Marakovits.
With Judge on a tear and reigning Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole about to make his season debut on Wednesday, the Bronx was full of hope before to Judge’s injury.
An Injury to Aaron Judge Would Be a Deadly Strike
Judge is the greatest home run hitter in the history of the game in addition to being the biggest slugger in the Yankees lineup. He is the team’s lifeblood. He’s also among their most dependable performers.
Giancarlo Stanton has begun to bat, and Anthony Volpe has had a fantastic second year; the Yankees have been fortunate thus far. But Volpe is in a two-week slump and Stanton is prone to injuries.
Juan Soto has been as reliable as possible, and both he and Judge benefit from each other’s accomplishments. Pitchers cannot pitch around each other, which is to their mutual advantage.
The Yankees lack a player of Judge’s caliber to fill in if he loses time. Grisham fails to produce a hit, while Oswaldo Cabrera, a versatile player, has experienced a steep decline in performance following a brilliant beginning.
With rookie slugger Jasson Dominguez and prospect Everson Pereira both on the injured list, things are significantly worse for the minors.
The Significance for History
With 26 long balls after 75 games, the Yankees captain is once again cruising at a high clip of home runs. With that, he is on track to hit 56, just one home run shy of his own American League record of 62.
The fact that Judge endured the worst season opener of his major league career just serves to highlight that. Judge hit well throughout the Yankees’ opening 23 games.174 with just three long balls. He has since hit.360 with an OPS of 1.334.
Judge will surpass his own home run record, according to former All-Star Jimmy Rollins’ prediction on Monday, which was prompted by the Yankees’ lineup’s balance and this turnaround.
During an appearance on Bleacher Report Walk-Off Live, Rollins stated, “His lineup is completely different around him.” “As he was surpassing the record…” Though he wasn’t the only player in the roster, he posed the greatest threat.The Orioles will choose who they have to pitch to when you play them; the guy who is the hottest won’t likely get a pitch, but if he touches the ball, it will almost certainly go out every time.
Naturally, Judge would have a far lower chance of breaking that record if he was sidelined for an extended length of time.
But the Yankees would willingly forgo that bit of history in order to have Judge available in October as they attempt something even more significant.
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