Aaron Judge's first at-bat back lasted five pitches and ended in a strikeout. Nobody in Yankee Stadium seemed to care.
Judge, who missed 84 games with a fractured rib, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his return to the New York Yankees
on Tuesday, Sept. 8. He played six innings in the field as part of the Yankees' plan to ease him back into the game after he declined to do a minor-league rehab assignment.After walking to the plate to a standing ovation, Judge struck out swinging in his first at-bat. He flew out to center field in the bottom of the fourth and was called out on strikes in the sixth.
The Yankees beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3 in the opener of a three-game series with the NL West cellar dwellers before a subway series against the New
York Mets, beginning Friday, Sept. 11.
Why Aaron Judge missed 84 games
Judge said the injury traced back to a diving play in Houston in late April. He played through rib and shoulder discomfort for about a month before it finally shut him down May 31. He was hitting .248 through 59 games at the time – a career worst – with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs.
He's still not all the way back. Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters before Tuesday night's game that Judge will be eased back, pulled from some games early while he works up to nine innings. He also will not play every day.
The Yankees went into Tuesday 81-62, four games behind Tampa Bay in the American League East and two up on Boston for the top wild card spot. They host the Rays Sept. 22-24 for a series that could decided the division.
The Yankees without Judge
In the 84 games Judge missed, the Yankees scored 4.06 runs a game and hit .227 as a team with a .681 OPS. With him in the lineup for 59 games, they averaged 5.17 runs and hit .243 with a .770 OPS. Basically, that's the difference between an average offense and one of the best lineups in the league.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Judge returns to Yankees lineup after missing 99 days with injury
