The entire city of New York held their breath on Tuesday night when All-Star slugger Aaron Judge was hit by a 94-mph fastball against the Baltimore Orioles, forcing him out of the Yankees’ eventual 4-2 victory.
After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone declined to comment on Judge’s X-rays or CT scan, but Judge later spoke with reporters and provided an update.
The judge stated that both the X-rays and the CT scan came back negative, which he considered good news. He claimed it’s conceivable he won’t miss any time, adding, “I told Boone I want to be in there tomorrow, so we’ll see.”
The entire city of New York may now breathe a sigh of relief, as the American League MVP candidate appears to have averted major harm. Just two days earlier, Mookie Betts, the National League MVP favourite, was struck by a 98 mph fastball. Unfortunately for Betts, that pitch shattered his hand, and he will now miss six to eight weeks of play, according to manager Dave Roberts.
Judge and the Yankees have received a much better prognosis, and it appears that their hero will not miss much time, if any.
That’s wonderful news for the Yankees, who have the best record in Major League Baseball thanks largely to Judge’s performance this season.
Judge has been slashing, with two plate appearances on Tuesday alone.302/.428/.687 with 26 home runs, 64 RBI, 22 doubles, and an astounding 1.115 OPS. He leads baseball with 4.9 fWAR (Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement), ahead of Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles, who has 4.7 fWAR.
The Yankees’ 4-2 victory over the Orioles on Tuesday brought them to 51-24 on the season, giving them a 2.5-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East. More crucially, it did not take out their greatest player and MVP frontrunner, who is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday night for the series’ second game.
Another huge subplot will unfold during that game, when reigning AL Cy Young Champion Gerrit Cole makes his 2024 debut. Cole, who has been dealing with elbow nerve inflammation since spring training, will join the Yankees’ deep rotation, which has been the best in baseball even without their ace.
It’s unclear whether Judge will be in the lineup for Cole’s debut, but it looks the Yankees averted disaster with their superstar outfielder.
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