Dizziness sends Judge to bench

Aaron Judge left Sunday’s game after two at-bats — both strikeouts — with dizziness. His at-bat in the first inning was briefly delayed as trainers tended to him, putting drops in his eyes before play resumed. After his third-inning plate appearance, Judge was replaced on defense by Brett Gardner. “Hopefully, it’s something that subsides here over the next little bit, and get him back in there tomorrow,” Boone told the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast.

SCHMIDT STEPS IN

Clarke Schmidt made his 2021 debut on Sunday against the Mets at Citi Field. Schmidt pitched in three MLB games in 2020 (making one four-inning start) but spent all of 2021 in the minors. A common extensor strain in his pitching elbow removed a good chunk of his 2021 season; he did not pitch at all until July 26.

Schmidt pitched admirably given the circumstances but was betrayed by his defense. Schmidt let five runs in but only two of them were earned, as costly errors by Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela gave the Mets baserunners that eventually scored.

The Yankees’ 2017 first-round pick logged 4.1 innings and allowed seven hits, none bigger than Francisco Lindor’s three-run homer with two outs in the second inning. The only reason Lindor even came to bat in that inning was because of Torres’ clanky glove.

VELAZQUEZ TO SCRANTON

To make room on the roster for Schmidt, the Yankees optioned shortstop Andrew Velazquez to Triple-A. Velazquez, the Bronx kid who always dreamt of playing shortstop for the Yankees, had become a cult hero during his time with the Yankees this year.

Now that Torres is healthy though, and the team needs pitching more than infielders, the writing was on the wall for Velazquez. Boone said the New York native understood that.

“It sucked,” Boone said. “He’s come up here and been a spark for us, played well for us. He’s been a big part of this season, and frankly, I expect him to be a big part of this moving forward.”

Velazquez hit .234 in 65 plate appearances with the Yankees, but became an instant favorite when he collected three hits and four RBI in the team’s sweep of the Red Sox from August 17-18 that allowed the Yankees to leapfrog Boston in the standings.

NO MORE NATIONAL LEAGUE

Sunday night closed the book on the Yankees’ 2021 interleague schedule. Heading into the series finale, the Yankees were 12-7 in interleague play this season. They have the Braves, Marlins and Nationals to thank for that. The Yankees won each of their series this year against that trio of NL East opponents.

A win on Sunday in Queens would give the Yankees an even 3-3 record against their crosstown rivals this year.