“A huge relief”: Judge OK after HBP was in hand during Yankees win

NEW YORK — The Yankees were waiting to see regarding the condition of Aaron Judge on Tuesday night.

By David Adler

Jun 19, 2024 05:22 AM

NEW YORK — The Yankees were holding their breath about the health of Aaron Judge on Tuesday night. But they finally got a huge piece of good news.

Judge had to be removed from during the 4th innings of New York’s game-opening win of 4-2 over the Orioles in Yankee Stadium, an inning after he was struck by an off-hand pitch to the left hand. However, X-rays and an CT scan of Judge’s hand after the game showed no damage. There was no fracture.

“It’s a big relief,” Judge declared. “Just, being hit there before a couple of years ago and breaking my wrist, you never know what’s going to happen. So finding out that it’s not fractured, not broken, is definitely a sigh of relief.”

Judge was notified of the news from team physicians after being taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital for an imaging scan and assessment by Yankees team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad.

The Yankees captain swung a 94-mph quickball by Albert Suarez off the bottom of his left hand during the third innings. It was the Bronx Bombers took the first game in the showdown between the top two teams of the American League East, however, the stature of their slugger who is a superstar temporarily obscured an impressive victory.

“Anytime you get hit by 94, 95 up and in like that, especially in the hand, where there’s so many small bones and ligaments, you just never know what’s going to happen or what it’s going to be,” Judge stated.

Judge, who is leading his team in Majors by hitting 26 homers and 64 RBIs, as well as an .687 percent slugging rate and an 1.115 OPS Judge said he’s hoping that he doesn’t miss time. He’s still feeling swelling around his hands and wrist, which is the area where he was struck however he is able to grip the bat.

Judge initially remained on the field after the hit by pitch, completing the bases before returning to center field at the beginning in the 4th. He was then pinch-hit in the bottom of the fourth by Trent Grisham in the bottom of the fourth. Grisham also assumed the role of the center.

The moment he was struck, Judge looked to be in pain immediately, and he dropped his bat, grabbing his hands and grimacing while He sped away from the batter’s box and took only a few steps towards the mound of the pitcher. He took a gradual loop around to the opposite side of field and back to first base, from where Judge was inspected by the Yankees trainers.

“I was definitely pissed,” Judge declared. “There were a couple of balls up and in. But that’s part of it. They like to throw in.”

After a long discussion, Judge remained in the game, and then came back to score Giancarlo Stanton’s RBI single, which gave the Yankees the lead of 2-0. After getting back to his dugout Judge took a straight route down the tunnel towards the Yankees clubhouse.

Judge was seen emerging from the tunnel just a few seconds later, picking up his glove before running to the outfield after the Yankees were on the field at the beginning of the 4th. He remained in defense, however as Judge’s turn at bat was coming up three batters into final inning, Grisham appeared in the on-deck circle and took his place.

“I wanted to hit,” Judge declared. “I was down in the cage, trying to swing, but I really couldn’t at the time.”

Manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees were able to take Judge out that day was an “precaution.”

“We just wanted to make sure to get it looked at and see what we were dealing with,” Boone said.

Boone was on his way towards Yankee Stadium when the incident occurred. He was at the high school graduation of his son earlier in the day, with the coach for the bench Brad Ausmus subbing in on manager duties until Boone arrived at the ballpark during the game. Boone was talking to the general manager Brian Cashman, and it was Cashman who told Boone the events that were taking place on the field.

Judge’s injury scare happened at the exact time Anthony Rizzo was placed on the injured list with a broken right forearm caused by a collision through the first base area during the Yankees game finale with the Red Sox on Sunday, that will keep him off for two months. The injury also occurred 2 days following Dodgers star Mookie Betts was injured on his left hand during the same hit pitch. Betts will now be forced to endure up to a six to eight-week absence.

“It’s tough. It’s a tough moment in the game,” Juan Soto said. “We all know that they didn’t try to hit Judge right there, but it’s a little frustrating. It’s a little uncomfortable.”

And Judge wasn’t the only Yankee who was hit by the hand in the game. Gleyber Torres was struck in a similar position by another fastball of 94 mph by O’s relief pitcher Keegan Akin during the 5th innings. Torres is a player who wears a protective glove around his hand when bats, stayed and won the game however, he took some time to recover from the strike by pitch.

The Yankees who saw the two players they have knocked down in just three innings, were not happy. There was some snarling from the Yankees in the dugout, especially the voice of Alex Verdugo.

“At the end of the day, we don’t take what happened lightly,” Verdugo told reporters. “These are our guys. And obviously [our] captain, it’s a big one for us, so none of us are too pleased about it. But at the same time, I don’t believe it was intentional. A couple of pitches got away from their guys.”

In the inning following Torres was struck, Yankees starter Nestor Cortes struck against Orioles famous Gunnar Henderson by throwing an up-and-in-fastball. However, Cortes claimed that it the pitch was “strictly pitching,” not directly related the incident of Judge and Torres being hit.

Both the Yankees and Orioles did not seem to believe they could carry the momentum into the remaining games.

“Just a competitive pitch. I didn’t really think anything of it,” Henderson spoke about the pitch that struck Judge. “Obviously, you don’t want to see that. He’s an unreal hitter, so you’ve got to make difficult pitches, and it just kind of, unfortunately, went up and in.”

“Not really looking [out] for anything,” Judge declared. “I was more pissed in the moment for myself. Like, nobody wants to get hit. We’re trying to go out there and compete and do our thing. Stuff like that happens.”

“I wouldn’t say I would expect anything to roll over,” Verdugo declared. “But I do expect that there’s gonna be a little bit more edge.”