CATCHING A BREAK
Romine’s MRI negative but day-to-day after leaving game with tight hammy
Abad night could’ve gotten a lot worse for the Yankees on Saturday, but a precautionary MRI on Austin Romine’s left hamstring came back negative. He is listed as day-to-day.
Romine came out of the team’s 11-0 loss to the Red Sox due to left hamstring tightness, which prompted the MRI. He grounded out to third in his final at-bat in the fifth. He was replaced by Kyle Higashioka behind the plate in the seventh.
“With the score being what it is, make sure if we can protect him a little bit,” Aaron Boone said.
Asked if Romine would be available to start Sunday’s game against Boston, Boone replied, “We’ll see.”
Backup Romine had moved up to No. 1 on the depth chart with starter Gary Sanchez out for 3-4 weeks due to a Grade 1 strain of his right hamstring.
No. 3 backstop Higashioka was summoned from Triple-A Scranton to replace Sanchez. The Bombers have no other catchers on their 40-man roster. They had veteran Erik Kratz, but traded him to Milwaukee in late May.
Higashoika is 0-for-21 at the plate to start his career.
1-FOR-FOURTH
At 21 years, 199 days, rookie wunderkind Gleyber Torres became the youngest Yankee since Mickey Mantle to hit cleanup, according to TV producer Moses Massena.
Incredibly, Torres started the season at Triple-A Scranton only to quickly ascend into a huge run-producing spot in the lineup.
Torres hasn’t really looked overmatched at all since the start of his short and stellar career, but he did against Chris Sale on Saturday night. The Red Sox lefty struck out Torres all three times he faced him. Torres did connect for a single in the ninth, the Bombers’ second hit of the evening.
“I think against the best pitcher in baseball, to strikeout is normal,” Torres said.
Sale allowed only one hit over seven shutout innings while striking out 11, as the Yankees were blanked for the third time in seven games.
DRURY RETURNS
Brandon Drury, who hadn’t played with the Yankees since April 6, got his first-ever MLB start at first base after playing there for five games with Triple-A Scranton.
Drury played one inning at first with Arizona in 2016 and made 55 appearances (53 starts) at first back in 2012 with Single-A Rome while in the Braves organization.
In his return, Drury went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.
“I look at it as it is gonna be kind of a work in progress for him over there,” Boone said before the game. “Obviously we feel like athletically he’s more than capable of handling it.”
Boone did consider playing Greg Bird after he hit two homers Friday, but he stuck with his original plan.
Drury lost his starting job at third base due to migraines and blurred vision and Miguel Andujar’s steady play after taking over the position.
NO SOX SPLASH AT DEADLINE
The Yankees and Red Sox are both likely to make a deal before the July 31 trade deadline, but whatever the Yankees do will not impact the Red Sox decision-making, according to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
“Not really only in sense that I can’t control what they do,” he said before Saturday’s game. “I’m on a lot of phone calls this time of year . ... People calling me just to check in, make sure what’s taking place and vice versa. With us, we’re going to try to be the best club we can irregardless (sic) of what the Yankees do.”
The two teams entered Saturday tied atop the AL East but Dombrowski added he does not envision a splashy trade that would put the Red Sox head and shoulders above their division rival.
“They’re gonna win a bunch of games. We’re gonna win a bunch of games. Not sure what the separator would be,” he said. “We like our club as it is. I think it would be more incremental-type changes than a huge change we might make.”
TANAKA TIME
Masahiro Tanaka (hamstrings) is tentatively scheduled to pitch in a rehab game Wednesday with Triple-A Scranton. Tanaka has been out since June 8.
His eventual return could mean Domingo German or Jonathan Loaisiga will get put in the bullpen, though Boone indicated the team could go with a six-man rotation at least one time through the rotation.
The Yankees have a doubleheader in Baltimore on July 9 in which Tanaka could be in the line to return… After Saturday’s game, the Yankees optioned righty Giovanny Gallegos back to Triple-A Scranton. Gallegos allowed three runs in two innings.