Yankees have star OF Aaron Judge back Thurs. vs. O’s

Aaron Judge was back in the New York Yankees' lineup on Thursday, two days after being hit by a pitch on the left hand.

Judge missed Wednesday's game, a 10-inning, 7-6 loss to the visiting Baltimore Orioles, before returning Thursday to bat third and man center field.

Judge was ruled day-to-day by the Yankees after X-rays and a CT scan on his hand came back negative. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters before Thursday's series finale with Baltimore that Judge hit in the batting cage, "came by my office and gave it a thumbs up."

In the third inning of Tuesday's 4-2 win over Baltimore, Judge was hit in the area around his pinky finger and knuckles by a 1-2 fastball from Baltimore starter Albert Suarez. He initially stayed in the game, sliding into third base on a single by Alex Verdugo and scoring on a base hit by Giancarlo Stanton.

After scoring New York's second run of the game, Judge headed to the clubhouse. Judge came out to play center field for the top of the fourth but was lifted for Trent Grisham in the bottom half when his spot in the lineup came up.

After a slow start to the season, the 32-year-old Judge entered Thursday batting .302 while leading the major leagues in home runs (26), RBIs (64), slugging percentage (.687) and OPS (1.115). He also has an American League-leading 22 doubles.

--Field Level Media