AROUND THE HORN

Yankees: Aaron Judge hurt his left oblique while taking a swing in the already banged-up New York Yankees’ 9-2 victory over the Royals, and the All-Star slugger likely is headed to the injured list. Judge homered in the first inning but hurt himself in the sixth while hitting a single. He was taken to a hospital for an MRI and further tests. Asked if Judge could possibly avoid going on the injured list, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “Probably not.” The Yankees began the game with 12 players on the injured list, including Giancarlo Stanton, Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez and Aaron Hicks. Of those missing, only Sanchez appears close to returning.

Mets: Ace Jacob deGrom played catch in the outfield of Busch Stadium and may not need an MRI on his elbow after all. DeGrom said before the game at St. Louis that his elbow soreness likely was from altering his routine during a recent bout of strep throat. “After getting some treatment and getting things moving around, it started feeling a little better,” deGrom said. “So decided to throw and felt good with how it went.” The Mets placed deGrom on the injured list Friday retroactive to April 16 because of right elbow soreness.

Cardinals: Miles Mikolas tossed eight stellar innings and also drove in two runs, leading the Cardinals over the Mets 10-2. Third baseman Matt Carpenter left the game after the sixth inning with a bruised left knee. He appeared to foul a ball off himself but stayed in and drew a walk, then scored a run and exited. Jose Martinez had three hits and three RBIs, and Paul Goldschmidt hit his eighth home run for St. Louis. Mikolas (2-1) became the first St. Louis starter to record an out in the seventh inning this season. He allowed two runs and four hits. The Cardinals are 11-0 when Mikolas records a base hit since he joined the team in 2018.

Extra innings: The Pirates placed CF Starling Marte on the 10-day injured list and SS Erik Gonzalez on the 60-day list a day after the two collided in the outfield in the eighth inning of a 4-1 victory over the Giants. The team said Marte suffered an abdominal wall contusion and Gonzalez fractured his left clavicle. Marte is the third member of Pittsburgh’s starting outfield to go on the injured list. RF Gregory Polanco is still recovering from shoulder surgery last fall and LF Corey Dickerson is nursing a strained right shoulder. ... Red Sox RHP Nathan Eovaldi went on the 10-day injured list because of an elbow injury. The team said Eovaldi has a loose body in his right elbow. He has had two Tommy John operations and also had surgery last year to remove loose bodies in the elbow. ... Cubs ace Jon Lester could be close to rejoining the rotation after pitching a simulated game. Lester threw 45 pitches Saturday, and manager Joe Maddon said he looked “very good.” The Cubs will see how he feels before determining the next step. Maddon did not rule out a return for a three-game series against the Dodgers that starts Tuesday.