The New York Yankees are confident they can find ways to win while they wait for Aaron Judge’s stress fracture in his rib to heal.
Four games into Judge’s first major injury in three seasons, the Yankees are struggling to consistently generate offense, and they hope the trend reverses on Saturday night when they host the Boston Red Sox.
The Yankees are 1-3 since Judge’s injury was announced on Tuesday. They are playing without their captain for an extended period for the first time since he missed nearly two months with a fractured toe in 2023.
During the first four games of Judge’s absence, New York has scored 13 runs and batted .208 (26-for-125), including 3-for-21 with runners in scoring position.
“Obviously, you’re not going to replace Aaron Judge, and we all know how important he is to our club,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But we’re also very confident in our ability to go out there and absolutely have the expectation to continue to win games.”
After eking out a 2-1 win over Cleveland on Thursday afternoon, the Yankees finished with eight hits in Friday’s 5-3 loss to Boston. Ben Rice and Trent Grisham homered while Spencer Jones had his first career three-hit game after going 4-for-24 in his first stint with the Yankees from May 8-21.
While the Red Sox are a paltry 10-21 at home so far, they are playing well on the road of late. Boston is 10-3 in its past 13 road games and earned the win thanks to homers by Willson Contreras and Andrew Monasterio.
Contreras drove in three runs Friday, is hitting .417 (25-for-60) during a 17-game on-base streak, and has homered in consecutive games for the second time this season. His homer also marked the 10th time this season the Red Sox hit multiple homers and first time since hitting three against Atlanta on May 26.
“They’re coming more frequently and a lot of them seem to be like big variety home runs,” said Boston interim manager Chad Tracy, whose team has hit an AL-worst 48 homers. “We know that like one swing, those are the big swings that are game-changers when they happen.”
Will Warren (7-1, 3.22 ERA), who is 3-0 with a 2.78 ERA in his past four starts, takes the mound for the Yankees. He last pitched Sunday when he allowed three unearned runs on six hits in a 13-8 road win over the Athletics.
Warren is 1-2 with a 9.42 ERA in three career starts against the Red Sox.
Ranger Suarez (2-3, 3.38), who is 0-1 with a 3.80 ERA in his past five starts, pitches for Boston. He allowed four runs on eight hits in five innings during a no-decision at Cleveland on Sunday when he also notched 10 strikeouts in a 93-pitch outing.
Suarez also allowed four runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings and took a 4-1 loss to the Yankees on April 22 in Boston. The left-hander is 1-2 with a 4.38 ERA in four career appearances (two starts) against New York.
–Field Level Media
