Gio sore, but good to go
BOSTON — Gio Urshela was stiff and sore Monday morning after his crash into the visitors dugout on Sunday. The Yankees, however, still expect the shortstop to be good to play in tonight’s Wild Card game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
“He’s actually getting some treatment about an hour and a half ago back in the hotel and saw him at brunch this morning, and he’s a little stiff but actually felt pretty good,” Aaron Boone said Monday evening. “I think if there was a game today, he’d be playing. I think he’s gonna be fine.
“I think we got incredibly fortunate in that situation,” the Yankees manager continued. “It really scared me watching him launch in there from my angle.”
On Sunday, Urshela sprinted from a shifted position near second base over to grab a foul ball just outside of third base. He made the catch underhanded at his knees, then tumbled full-speed into the third base dugout. He went into the dugout face first, but avoided hitting his head.
“It’s more that he bruised his thigh. That’s where he slammed in. He has a little cut on his calf/shin area, but mostly just banged his thigh,” Boone said.
“I was expecting to go over to a car accident with the Jaws of Life being out or something serious,” Boone said. “I mean I was really, really nervous. And fortunately, obviously he’s able to walk off and stay in for a while.”
PARTNERS TO THE END
Kyle Higashioka will be behind the plate to catch Gerrit Cole in the biggest game of the season. It’s certainly not surprising that Cole, who had a 6.35 ERA over his last four starts, would get the catcher he prefers in a big spot.
Still, it leaves the question of where Gary Sanchez stands. Boone said Monday it was not likely that Sanchez would be the designated hitter.
“No, not necessarily. Again, we’ll sit down and do that. But no, it means he’s potentially a bat off the bench,” Boone said. “We’ll talk through it and potentially DH, but no, probably bat off the bench.”
After a miserable 2020 season, in which he got just nine at-bats in six playoff games as Boone favored Higashioka, Sanchez had earned the starting catcher role back this spring.
But he’s had his ups and downs this season. Sanchez is hitting .204/.307/.423 with 23 homers and a .730 OPS. In 15 games against the Red Sox in 2021, he is slashing .196/.315/.348 with a home run and a .663 OPS.
LEADING OFF
With DJ LeMahieu on the injured list and unlikely to be available unless there is a very long playoff run, Boone has had to find a new leadoff man. He’s used Gleyber Torres and Brett Gardner in that spot since LeMahieu has been out.
“As I’m sitting here right now, I’m thinking probably Gleyber,” Boone said. “But I’ll sit and get with (bench coach Carlos Mendoza) and the coaches tonight and see exactly the way I want to go. But I think there’s a good chance it will be Gleyber.”
In five games leading off this season, Torres is hitting .100/.143/.150 with a .293 OPS, one walk and seven strikeouts. In nine games atop the lineup this year, Gardner is hitting .219/.342/.438 with a .780 OPS, two home runs, six strikeouts and six walks.
STAR WARS
Cole said it’s not personal. At this year’s All-Star Game, a highlighted video made the rounds on Twitter that had Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez chatting in Spanish with All-Stars from the Blue Jays about the Yankees ace. The video is enhanced to where Martinez is heard to be saying that Cole snubbed the Red Sox All-Stars who said hello to him earlier in the day. It blew up even more when Cole’s wife, Amy, replied on Twitter that Martinez “made it up.”
“I don’t recall having tons of conversations with them, they were kind of on other sides of the clubhouse. Certainly don’t remember some of the exchanges that have been reported,” Cole said Monday, before rain washed out the Yankees’ workout.
“But I was still kind of not feeling too hot those couple days there coming out of Houston,” Cole said. “So I wasn’t maybe quite myself. But also, maybe it wasn’t quite what other people try to portray me like.”
It’s not certain that Cole will have to face Martinez tonight. The Red Sox slugger, who is usually the designated hitter, had to play right field on Sunday as Boston finished the regular season in a National League park. He slipped on second base while running out to right field and twisted his left ankle.