FOR YANKS Sore point! Judge out with side issue
and Hicks started making his way to first only to hear the home plate umpire call a strike.
As the Stadium crowd hummed in frustration, Hicks chased the next pitch out of the strike zone to the second out.
Scott, a fire-balling lefty with a nasty slider, then struck out Stanton to end the inning.
Aaron Judge has been left off of Wednesday’s lineup with general soreness in his left side, Aaron Boone revealed. Judge has had 22 at bats over the Yankees first five games of the season. He’s been the starting right fielder for four games and the designated hitter in one. Yet, after less than one week of play, Boone curiously attributed Judge’s soreness to wear and tear of the last five games.
“With the off day tomorrow, you know, just something we’re trying to stay ahead of and don’t want to push through anything right now,” Boone said when asked of the decision to leave Judge off of the lineup in the series finale against the Orioles.
The slugger was sore during and after the Yankees’ 7-2 win over the Birds on Tuesday — though whether he intentionally held back on trying to made a grab in right field or looked a little run down while running bases was as a result of being sore, Boone said he didn’t think so. He did explain that the soreness in his side was because of the uptick in repetitions of taking swings.
“I know when he DHed the other day, he hit a lot, he took a lot of swings during that day,” Boone said. “But I think it’s just been I just kind of gradual.”
Judge smashed a monster 432foot homer in Tuesday night’s win over the O’s. He went 3 for 4 in the game, and the homer was his second in as many days.
When asked if the soreness started during any outfield plays, like when Judge bumped his left side into the wall making a catch a fan tried to steal right from inside his glove, Boone again said: “I guess maybe it could have led to something, but I don’t think so because I don’t think it was a real issue until last night. Whether that was part of the overall wear and tear and getting, you know, leading to some of the soreness, I guess that’s possible.”
Judge was still expected to get in some stretches and take some limited swings at the Stadium on Wednesday, but Boone did not have an answer on whether he would be available as a late addition in the game.
Judge missed the Yankees final Grapefruit League game this spring because he felt “under the weather.” Illness aside, Judge has been no stranger to injuries holding him back through the season. He missed 50 games in 2018, 60 games in 2019 and 32 games of the already short 2020 season, all
due to various injuries.
The Yankees haven’t said too much on who or how many players and staff were thinking about or planning to receive any of the available coronavirus vaccines. Boone, however, revealed they more than likely will have enough or more than enough of the threshold set by MLB to then start toning down COVID-19 restrictions.
“I‘m very optimistic that we’re going to get to that point very soon just, it’s a matter of when we get that opportunity, which I know is coming,” Boone said. “I’m confident we’re going to be well past that 85% when our day comes.”
The league sent out a memo before the start of the regular season incentivizing teams and players to get vaccinated from the virus that already complicated the season start. The Washington Nationals and Mets both had delays in their schedule after at least three Nationals players tested positive for COVID-19 before Opening Day and at least five needing to enter the protocol for contact tracing.
If 85% of a team’s Tier 1 staff, which includes players, coaches and other field employees get vaccinated, that team can start to do things like not wearing masks in dugouts and not having to social distance in certain areas. The St. Louis Cardinals were the first team to pass the 85% mark and the Brewers have also promoted their own team’s vaccination effort, though have not made it public whether they reached the benchmark.
“When that time comes, we’re going to we’re going to pass that threshold which, you know, we all look forward to,”
BY SARAH VALENZUELA
BOONE: WE’LL HIT VAX RATE