NEW YORK – It was Judgement day at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.
After missing more than three months because of a stress fracture in his right rib, Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge was back in action during the team’s 5-3 victory over the Rockies. A sold-out crowd of 46,211 saw him go 0-for-3 with two strikeouts before he was taken out of the game in the top of the seventh inning and replaced by Heliot Ramos.
“I felt great,” Judge said. “I just haven’t been in a live game or seen live pitching for three months, so it’s kind of like, you know, starting the year (over again). But I got work to do. Got to improve, and we’ll keep improving as this goes along.”
Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged that Judge didn’t like being taken out of the game, but the skipper was being cautious when it comes to Judge’s health.
“He’s just a competitor and wants to be out there, and I get that,” Boone said. “You know, he’s done a lot of work to prepare to be ready to play, and I know in his mind he feels he is very much ready to go the distance. But it’s my job to be smart here, especially these first several games here.”
The Yankees were 45-39 without Judge in the lineup, but Judge knows that winning games during the regular season isn’t enough. The goal is for the Yankees to win their first World Series title since 2009.
“You know, some winning seasons are great, but the goal is to win a World Series, and I don’t think anybody in this room is gonna be satisfied until we finish that off,” Judge said.
