For the first time this season, the Yankees are out on the road. Three games in four days in Baltimore, then three games in three days in Houston. Maybe leaving Yankee Stadium will help get this team out of its funk. Then again, unless the road trip can heal injuries, probably not. The Yankees are really beat up right now.
“The Major League season is a gauntlet filled with adverse situations all the time. They come in many shapes and sizes throughout the year, even in the best of seasons,” said Aaron Boone to Ken Davidoff yesterday. “I’ll hang my hat on our group and know we’ll fight our way through this and get it rolling.”
While the injuries have taken a bite out of the lineup, the Yankees also aren’t getting much from the healthy players other than Aaron Judge and DJ LeMahieu. The other regulars have to get going, especially with guys like Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, and Aaron Hicks not around to pick up the slack. Here are today’s lineups:
New York Yankees
1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. DH Luke Voit
4. C Gary Sanchez
5. 1B Greg Bird
6. 3B DJ LeMahieu
7. SS Gleyber Torres
8. LF Clint Frazier
9. 2B Tyler Wade
LHP James Paxton
Baltimore Orioles
1. 2B Jonathan Villar
2. LF Dwight Smith Jr.
3. RF Trey Mancini
4. DH Renato Nunez
5. 3B Rio Ruiz
6. CF Joey Rickard
7. 1B Chris Davis
8. C Jesus Sucre
9. SS Richie Martin
RHP Alex Cobb
It is cool and partly cloudy in Baltimore for the O’s home opener this afternoon. No rain in the forecast, thankfully. Today’s game will begin at 3:05pm ET and you can watch on the YES Network. Try to enjoy.
Roster Move: As expected, Troy Tulowitzki (calf) has been placed on the 10-day injured list. He’ll rest a few days then be reevaluated. “It’s unfortunate, but like I’ve shared with the guys, it’s never easy. Sometimes it makes your team a little bit better because it tests that depth,” Tulowitzki said to Bryan Hoch. Thairo Estrada has been called up to fill the roster spot. He’s wearing No. 30 and this is his first stint in the big leagues.
Injury Updates: Aaron Hicks (back) has started baseball activities. Hooray for that. Specifically, he has started playing catch, and will soon begin taking dry swings and hitting off a tee. Hicks has been shut down more than a month now, so he likely has several weeks of baseball activities and rehab games ahead of him … Jacoby Ellsbury (hip surgery) is still going through light baseball activities. “He’s doing some activity, running on the field, doing some stuff with tee and toss and stuff like that. He’s just had the little pullbacks here and there with the different things he’s dealing with,” Boone said to Hoch.