New York Yankees star Aaron Judge was pulled from their game against the Baltimore Orioles early Tuesday night after handling a fastball at the plate.
Judge was batting in the third inning at Yankee Stadium when a fastball from Orioles starter Albert Suarez drilled him in the hand. Judge was clearly shocked by the moment and hopped around a bit holding his fingers before walking towards the first.
Judge stayed in the game and took the field in the top of the fourth inning. At first it seemed like he was avoiding injury altogether.
But by the time Judge was scheduled to appear at the next plate in the bottom half of the inning, the Yankees pulled him from the game. Instead, Trent Grisham came in to make a pinch hit for him.
It’s unclear how serious Judge’s injury is, but replays of the hit don’t look great. Judge seemed to take the ball directly to his left pinky finger at the bottom of the bat, and he really seemed to have trouble squeezing his hand with trainers.
The Yankees had a 3-0 lead over the Orioles when Judge was removed from the game. They entered Tuesday night having lost three of their last four games, but with a 50-24 record and the lead in the AL East.
Judge’s injury is the second major injury in recent days for the Yankees. They lost the first baseman in a nasty collision in their loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
This post will be updated soon with more information.
