Gotta hand it to tough Romine

CATCHER Austin Romine called his stint at the office “some type of day back there” after Sunday's Yankee loss to the Rays, and Romine sported a cloth bandage on his left hand when he spoke to reporters at his locker, the fallout from being drilled by Rays reliever Steve Cishek in the sixth inning.

“Sore. It's good, though, X-rays were negative. It got pretty swollen, pretty quick. I was a little nervous. A little tingling, but they said it's not broke,” said Romine of his hand. “Just a bruise.”

Romine also got clocked in the throat in the second inning when a foul tip off the bat of Adeiny Hechavarria hit the dirt and bounced up to hit Romine in an area not protected by his catcher's mask. Romine said he couldn't catch his breath for several seconds, but he stayed in the game.

“That's sore as well,” Romine said of his neck. “That's part of the job, just got to roll with it. It took the breath from me. It kind of felt like I had a golf ball in my throat for a little bit. That was the first time in my 11-year career getting a foul ball off the ground into my neck. It's scary, but nothing broke. Keep going.”

Romine also remained in the game and took his base after getting plunked by Cishek, but when the sixth inning ended, Gary Sanchez replaced Romine behind the plate to start the top of the seventh.

“I'm sure (Romine) won't be available for a couple days, but we don't anticipate it being a (disabled list) stint,” said Yankee manager Joe Girardi of his backup catcher. Romine, however, felt differently. “I don't expect to miss any time. But they've got to do their job. It's not broke, jam (left hand) into a glove and let's go,” said Romine. “It’s swollen and sore, but see how I am (Monday)."

STILL OUT

Aaron Judge went 0-for-4 with a walk Sunday and saw his average dip from .305 to .302 after the 5-3 loss. In the bottom of the ninth, with two runners on and one out, Judge strolled to the plate with a chance to win the game on a single swing, but instead popped up for the second out. “Is it the guy that you want up in that situation right there? Yeah. No matter how (Judge) is swinging, that’s the guy you want up in that situation because he can change it really quickly,” Girardi said after the game, referring to Judge. The Yankee skipper said he did not anticipate moving Judge from his No. 3 spot in the batting order anytime soon. Judge, meanwhile, said he thinks the post All-Star Game slump is “totally different” than his slump in 2016, when he struck out 42 times in 84 at-bats. “I'm hitting (.302) in the big leagues with 33 homers. My main goal is focus on what I can control,” said Judge, who has hit only three dingers since winning the Home Run Derby July 10. “It's part of the season, part of the grind. The main thing is not getting overwhelmed by it. Keep enjoying every moment. It's all about the team. I know I can succeed in this game.” … Judge said it was “pretty cool” to learn that the jersey he wore in his major league debut sold for $160,000 by Steiner Auctions, but joked that he's still waiting for any royalties from the sale.