Inside The Pinstripes

Why Aaron Judge Is Out of Starting Lineup in Series Opener Against Red Sox

Judge will be available off the bench and is expected to return to the starting lineup on Friday night.

Max Goodman

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BOSTON — With the Yankees opening a four-game series against the Red Sox on Thursday night, New York's first trip to Fenway Park this season, it was a bit of a surprise to see Aaron Judge out of the starting lineup.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed a few hours before first pitch that Judge is dealing with some lower body soreness, some normal wear and tear as New York approaches the All-Star break.

"Just the last couple of nights, he's been dealing with some tightness in his lower half," Boone said. "Just felt like today was the day that we needed to have him down."

Judge has been incredible all season long, producing MVP-caliber numbers while playing almost every day, silencing any questions about his injury history and leading the best club in the league. On Wednesday night, during a 16-0 shellacking against the Pirates, the slugger mashed his 30th home run of the season, breaking out of a mini slump in grand fashion.

"Not something I'm overly concerned about, but more importantly just want to be something we get out ahead of and make sure that it doesn't turn into something big," Boone added. "He's able to navigate through these last couple of days, but especially getting in as late as we did last night, it's just not something I want to mess with right now."

Boone specified that Judge is feeling heaviness and tightness in his calves. He doesn't think this is connected to the outfielder's increased playing time in center field this season, rather than his normal spot in right.

"It's been more the last couple of days," the skipper said. "Just grinded through a lot this half and I know when he starts to get that tightness down there, it's not something that I want to become a bigger issue."

Over 80 games this season, Judge is hitting .287/.366/.627 with 30 homers, 64 RBI, 65 runs scored and 3.6 bWAR. His 30 big flies are the most in Major League Baseball. 

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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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