The Yankees were so close, they could reach out and get closer to their dream scenario: Gerrit Cole returns and forms a big three with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
after that …
There was at least some anxiety, but that was probably it.
The Yankees beat the Orioles, 4-2, but in the immediate aftermath, there was no euphoria celebrating a key June win and Cole’s 2024 MLB debut. There was concern. Judge was hit in the left hand by a 94 mph fastball from Albert Suarez, the leadoff hitter in the top of the third inning.
He played the entire frame before being ejected and sent for imaging. Manager Aaron Boone summed up the big win and maybe even bigger loss:
“There’s a lot to be excited about this win, but of course I’m worried about my captain. We’ll see what happens and hopefully we can avoid something.”
Judge’s initial words suggest the worst has certainly been averted. He said X-rays and a CT scan were negative. Swelling is still there. But Judge didn’t rule out Cole taking the field for his first start in 2024. It doesn’t feel 100% safe. But the initial serious concerns may soon subside, as they did with Soto’s inflammation in his left forearm earlier this month.
At this point, the Yankees are willing to consider Judge, who looked shaky at times on Tuesday, missing a few games against Baltimore, just as they did with Soto, which could lead to a repeat of 2018, when Judge broke his right wrist on a pitch from Jacob Junis and missed seven weeks in the second half of the season.
The Yankees handled Cole’s absence well. Better than well, actually. Cole was a staple in spring training. But the Yankees will have the best record in the major leagues without him. The Yankees’ starting ERA after Nestor Cortes tossed six shutout innings was a major league-best 2.86, not far from the 2.63 that Cole had when he was the lone AL Cy Young winner in 2023.
Luis Gil has been impressive in filling in for Cole and the rest of the starters, but replacing Judge won’t be so easy. Part of that is because he’s Aaron Judge in top form, and part of that is because even Jason Dominguez, the player they’d most like to have back if the worst were to happen, is out for most of the year with an oblique injury recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Sure, last year Judge missed eight weeks with a toe injury, which greatly hindered the offense and the team’s power, but this season they have added Soto, but just like last season, there are still plenty of weaknesses throughout the lineup. What makes the difference is that Soto and Judge form a fearsome one-two punch at No. 2 and No. 3 in the lineup.
And, of course, the bigger plan was to bring together three of arguably the top 10 players in the world in Soto, Judge and Cole at once. The Yankees were happier that it happened an hour after beating the Orioles than they were at the end of the game.
Of course, there’s no crying allowed in baseball. The Orioles are without their closer (Felix Bautista) for the season and three starting pitchers (Kyle Bradish, at least for the time being, and John Means and Tyler Wells for the season). Like the Yankees, the Orioles are tenacious, resourceful and brilliant.
The Yankees had lost three of four games at Camden Yards earlier this season and knew they needed to turn things around and extend their lead in the division in June.
At least that’s what they did on Tuesday night.
The Orioles were just 1-for-11 with runners on base against Cortes, who had zero walks, six strikeouts and a 1.57 ERA in eight starts at Yankee Stadium.
Suarez pitched to a 1.61 ERA, the lowest of any pitcher with at least 40 innings. He led the Orioles to the second-best record in the AL as a pinch-hitting starter. But his wildness was as blatant as the Yankees’ patience. Suarez allowed six hits, five walks and was hit by a pitch by Judge, but only gave up three runs and 11 outs over 96 pitches.
Boone wasn’t there for the start of the game. He was driving to the stadium after attending his son’s graduation and was on the phone with Brian Cashman when Judge was hit by Suarez’s pitch. Cashman was giving a play-by-play of the incident. No one on the Yankees thought it was intentional, but Alex Verdugo felt that the pitchers, who generally had good control, hit too many inside pitches, and DJ LeMahieu said, “We hit our best guy inside and he hit Gleyber.” [Torres by reliever Keegan Akin]nobody would be happy about that.”
Torres stayed in the game. Judge obviously didn’t, so he went to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for imaging and anxiety tests. The Yankees have done great without Cole.
But that’s like crawling through the mud in a half marathon, being told you can get up, then being knocked down again. Maybe the American will get up for the rest of the race. Cole returned on Wednesday, and in the midst of the annual Hope Week, Judge said he was a little beaten down and bruised, but not completely screwed, and offered his own hope.
The Yankees remain in first place and are edging ever closer to having their Big Three take the field together.
