Bombers catch break with Cole ready to return

The best news the Yankees have had in the last week is that Gerrit Cole was not seriously hurt. The Yankees confirmed he is expected to make his start tonight after leaving his last start with left hamstring tightness.

“I just needed to get some treatment and I just settled back into my routine,” Cole said before Monday’s make-up game against the Twins at the Stadium. “And so I feel good about it.”

With the Yankees having lost eight of their last 10 and 12 of their last 16 games, they need something to feel good about. They have dropped out of a wild card spot, they were swept by the Blue Jays and lost two out of three in the Subway Series.

They lost one of their most reliable pitchers in Jonathan Loaisiga (shoulder strain) and their second-most reliable starter in Jameson Taillon, who suffered a partial tear of a tendon in his right ankle.

Cole will just have his start pushed back by two days after going 3.2 innings against the Blue Jays on Tuesday.

It looked like Cole was feeling fine on Sunday night, when he hopped over the dugout fence during a scrum between the Yankees and Mets.

“It was an intense moment,” Cole said.

Shortstop Francisco Lindor and the Mets were concerned Taijuan Walker was tipping pitches and that the Yankees had been whistling to relay pitches to hitters on Saturday. While frowned upon in the game, that is not against the rules, unless electronic means are used.

Lindor made whistling gestures at the Yankee dugout when he hit his second of three homers on Sunday.

That ticked off the Yankees, and when Giancarlo Stanton homered he said something to Lindor and Javier Baez as he rounded the bases.

Cole said he hopped the fence to protect his teammate if needed.

“Giancarlo’s out there by himself. I just want to make sure that he gets back home,” Cole said. “I mean (Mets third baseman Jonathan) Villar’s behind him. The pitcher’s behind him. Your guy’s on an island out there. You just want to make sure he’s all right.”

JUDGE BACK

Aaron Judge was back in the lineup Monday after leaving Sunday night’s game with dizziness. The slugger remained on the bench Sunday night and Boone said they watched him overnight.

Judge hit his 33rd homer of the season, his third in the last three games and and his third game-tying or go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later in the Yankees’ 6-5 victory.

“I feel better today. Not 100%. But I’m not too concerned about it,” Judge said. “It just kind of came out of nowhere. I’ve gotten my bell rung a couple of times in football and it is kind of what it felt like, but I was kind of hoping it would pass. So I kept trying to beg and plead to stay in the game and let me finish it out.

“But I am feeling better today and hopefully even better the next day.”

Judge and Aaron Boone said they did not have a reason for why Judge felt dizzy Sunday night.

“Hydration was fine. You know, we checked that and all the vitals were good,” Judge said.

“I really don’t know what it is, but I’m just thankful to be feeling better today.

“And hopefully a little better tomorrow.”

TAILLON ENCOURAGED

Taillon threw on flat ground Monday for the first time since suffering a torn tendon in his right ankle. Boone said that was welcome news.

“It was an encouraging step. I think it went better than even he expected. And I think, as he said, he let the last couple rip a little bit,” Boone said.

“And he felt really good…..I think he was actually surprised at how good he felt. So I would say it’s encouraging. He’s day to day.”