Inside The Pinstripes

Luke Voit Returns From Injured List With a Bang

New York Yankees first baseman Luke Voit hits a home run on the first pitch he sees in his return from the injured list in a loss to the Kansas City Royals

Max Goodman

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK — Before Tuesday night's game began, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about Luke Voit's return from the injured list and whether or not the slugger had any limitations . 

"He's built up and should be ready to roll," Boone said.

It didn't take long for Voit to prove he's ready to face big-league pitching.

On the very first pitch he saw in the first inning, Voit absolutely unloaded on a hanging slider from Royals right-hander Brady Singer, sending a no-doubter to the bleachers in left. His second home run of the season left his bat at a scorching 109.8 mph, sailing 423 feet.

The first baseman knew it was gone right when it cracked off his lumber, leaning back before easing into his home run trot.

"I was ready to go from pitch one and it felt amazing," Voit said after the game. "Got a hanging breaking ball and you've got to do that with hanging breaking balls. You can't miss those so just trying to put a good swing on it."

Later in the game, Voit came inches away from a second home run, ending up with a triple as a fan reached over the left-field wall. Boone elected to summon Tyler Wade as a pinch-runner at third, ending Voit's day in the seventh frame.

Wade came around to score moments later on a wild pitch, the go-ahead run in a tie ballgame. New York wound up falling 6-5, though, as Jonathan Loaisiga permitted four runs to score in the top of the eighth to take the loss. 

Results aside, Voit was very pleased with his at-bats. Two hard-hit balls and a walk show that the slugger is in a good place, partly because he's feeling healthy again.

"I flushed the first half and I'm finally healthy," he explained. "This is the first game since the beginning of spring that I've been healthy."

Voit hadn't played since May 25, missing almost an entire month due to an oblique strain. It wasn't his first stint on the injured list this season either, spending the first 34 games of the campaign on the sidelines after surgery on his left knee during spring training. 

Those two injuries have limited Voit to just a dozen games this season entering play on Tuesday night. Boone seemed confident pregame that Voit will return to form quickly after a solid stretch of hitting during his rehab assignment.

"He looks good," Boone said. "He looks like he's in a really good frame of mind. I think he's feeling really, really good physically and obviously we didn't rush this rehab. He got quite a few at-bats down there and feel like he's in a good spot and ready to contribute."

As for whether or not Voit will be limited in his playing time, coming back from his oblique injury, Boone noted that the slugger won't be in the lineup every game going forward. New York began a 13-day stretch without an off day on Tuesday.

If he's swinging the bat like he did on Tuesday night, however, it'll be tough to keep him out of the lineup.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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