ARLINGTON, Texas — Aaron Judge was back in the Yankees’ lineup Thursday a day after an injury scare, but his night didn’t last long because of a different physical issue.
The Yankees’ captain was removed from the 4-2 win over the Rangers in the bottom of the fourth inning after feeling what he later described as “a little grab in the hip area” during his at-bat in the second inning.
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Judge said he woke up Wednesday morning with his whole right side feeling “a little locked up,” stemming from an awkward head-first slide Wednesday afternoon at Minnesota.
“It wasn’t until the second-to-last swing that at-bat [in the second inning], I kind of felt something grab,” Judge said. “They kind of thought it’d be best to shut it down and see how we feel after a couple days and then get back in there.”
Replays showed Judge appearing to grimace after swinging through a high fastball as he struck out in the second inning — his second strikeout in as many at-bats.
Judge continued to play right field for the next two innings and even took some swings in the indoor batting cage in an attempt to stay in the game.
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But manager Aaron Boone advised against it and replaced Judge with Oswaldo Cabrera in right field heading into the bottom of the fourth.
Judge said he wasn’t “too concerned” about the hip issue, but when asked if he expected to play again this series, he said: “I don’t have the answer to that. We’ll take it day-to-day and see how things feel.”
It was the second straight day with an injury scare for Judge.
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On Wednesday, he jammed his right hand on an awkward, head-first slide into third base during a steal attempt. He remained in that game and said on Thursday afternoon that the hand was “good.”
Boone considered giving him Thursday off, though after talking to Judge and the trainers, he put him in the lineup. But he didn’t last long.
“When I woke up this morning, [I] kind of felt a little bit more of what happened,” Judge said. “But I think a culmination of having that and then a couple swings today, I just really couldn’t get it loose. Then you feel a little something there in that second at-bat and best to shut it down and try to reevaluate it in a couple days.”
The Yankees can hardly afford to lose Judge, the reigning AL MVP, especially with Giancarlo Stanton, Harrison Bader and Josh Donaldson already on the injured list.
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The injury concern overshadowed what was otherwise a solid night for the Yankees.
Gerrit Cole continued his strong start to the season, giving up just two runs across 6 ²/₃ innings while striking out eight.
The Yankees jumped out in front in the third inning with back-to-back home runs off left-hander Andrew Heaney.
DJ LeMahieu delivered the first, drilling an opposite-field shot that stayed fair down the right-field line.
Gleyber Torres followed with his second home run in as many days, this one a bullet smoked 443 feet to dead center field for the 2-0 lead.
The rally continued as the Yankees loaded the bases with one out for Anthony Volpe, who continued to produce by roping the first pitch he faced into left field for an RBI single.
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After the Rangers scored a pair of runs off Cole in the sixth, Michael King threw the final 2 ¹/₃ innings to record the save.
Former Ranger Jose Trevino also added a solo home run in the top of the ninth for an insurance run, finishing off a 3-for-4 effort on a night when almost all of the attention was on Judge’s injury.
“I don’t like taking our guy out, but we’ll see,” Boone said. “We’ll see what we have here [Friday] and the next couple days. … [Injuries are] part of it. Not allowed to be upset. Nobody waits for us. We got a tough league and we gotta keep going.”
