The Yankees delayed the Boston Red Sox’s coronation as the American League East division champions Tuesday night in the Bronx as Aaron Judge took a turn at bat in the team’s lineup for the first time since being placed on the disabled list July 27 with a broken right wrist.
The right fielder’s 0-4 night in the Yankees’ 3-2 victory over Boston was secondary.
His presence signaled the Yankees getting one step closer to being whole and healthy again as they feverishly try to hold off the Oakland A’s for home field advantage in a potential one-game, single-elimination AL wild-card match up.
At 92-58, the Yankees were two and a half games in front of the 90-61 A’s when they met the Red Sox again last night (Wednesday) at Yankee Stadium in the second game of a three-game series for the longtime division rivals. The Red Sox entered the series needing only one win to clinch the AL East title. They went into last night’s game with the best record in baseball at 103-48 and a 10 and a half game lead in the division.
But every team starts 0-0 in the postseason and Judge’s re-entry in the Yankees’ batting order bolsters their standing as a World Series contender. “I felt like I never left,” Judge said. “That’s all you can really ask for after missing so many weeks.”
His presence was palpably missed by the Yankees as they were unable to close the gap between themselves and the Red Sox during the so-called dog days of summer.
“[I] still have some pain,” said Judge. “There’s going to be some pain probably until the offseason, but it’s something I can deal with, and it’s not affecting my swing or anything like that.”
In addition to Judge’s return, the Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, who hasn’t pitched in a Major League game since Aug. 21 because of tendinitis, was expected to be back with the team no later than today.