Yankees star Aaron Judge did not play in Saturday’s game against Philadelphia and was sent for imaging of his right elbow, raising concerns for a team that has been struggling in the standings for the past two months.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone expressed his worry but said they would wait for the results of the imaging before making any conclusions. He avoided speculating whether the injury involved Judge’s ulnar collateral ligament.
Boone remained hopeful, saying, “Hopefully it’s something manageable and we can get through it.”
Judge, a two-time AL MVP, is currently leading the major leagues with a .342 batting average and a 1.160 OPS. He has hit 37 home runs and driven in 85 runs this season. The Yankees once held a seven-game lead in the AL East by late May but entered Saturday 5 1/2 games behind first-place Toronto, the largest deficit of the season.
Judge appeared to be in pain during Tuesday’s game in Toronto after catching a fly ball in right field and making a throw to second base. He was caught on camera clenching his right hand in a fist.
Boone explained, “He had a throw in Toronto where it zinged him, it hurt.”
Judge served as designated hitter the next day, as was planned, and played right field again on Friday during a 12-5 loss to Philadelphia. Saturday marked only the second time this season he was out of the lineup.
Boone added, “He felt fine on the off day but started dealing with it last night. He couldn’t throw well from the outfield.”
Team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad was scheduled to review Judge’s imaging results on Saturday.
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