The New York Yankees had won six of their previous seven games heading into Tuesday night. The momentum felt real. A home series against the Cleveland Guardians offered a chance to build on it, with the rotation lined up and the offense rolling at fourth in the majors in runs scored.
Instead, the night unraveled quickly. Cam Schlittler, the American League Cy Young frontrunner, delivered his worst start of the season. The bullpen couldn’t hold it together. Cleveland won 9-4, and New York has now dropped nine of twelve games against teams above .500.
The loss stung. What came out before the first pitch stung more.
What the Injury Reveals About Judge’s Recent Struggles
GettyAaron Judge of the New York Yankees.
Aaron Judge was out of the lineup Tuesday with a bone bruise near his right rib cage, an injury manager Aaron Boone confirmed had been affecting his swing for weeks. Judge received imaging Monday, and the Yankees are sending him to a specialist for additional testing. Boone described it as a unique location for an injury. “We’ll have the specialist probably look at it tomorrow,” Boone said, “and see where we’re at and see how he feels with it.“
Boone confirmed the injury had been “nagging for a couple of weeks” before worsening over the weekend against the Oakland Athletics in Sacramento. The timeline matters, because it explains a lot.
Over his previous 22 games, Judge went 17-for-82 with just six extra-base hits, 14 walks, and 26 strikeouts, including a stretch where he managed just two hits in 26 at-bats with seven consecutive strikeouts. For a player of his caliber, those numbers were jarring. The injury context reframes them entirely.
NYU Langone sports orthopedic surgeon Dr. Spencer Stein offered perspective on what a bone bruise of this nature actually does to a hitter. “It needs rest,” Stein said, adding that depending on severity, recovery could range from a week or two to as long as eight to ten weeks if the bruise is closer to a stress fracture.
What It Means for New York
Judge is the axis around which everything in this lineup turns. The Yankees entered Tuesday fourth in the majors in runs scored, a number that speaks to their depth. Paul Goldschmidt delivered a two-run homer and three hits before the offense went cold. The pieces are there.
But there is no replacing what Judge brings. His presence in the middle of the order changes how opposing pitchers approach every at-bat around him. His absence does the opposite, and New York felt it immediately on Tuesday night.
Jasson Dominguez is working his way back from a sprained left shoulder, with live batting practice scheduled for Wednesday and a potential minor league rehab assignment starting Friday. His return would help. It does not solve the Judge problem.
Boone remained cautiously optimistic, saying he hoped the injury was a matter of days rather than weeks. The doctor’s wider range tells a more complicated story.
Final Word for the Yankees
Judge’s numbers were already drawing attention before Tuesday. Now there is an explanation, and in some ways that is both a relief and a concern.
The relief is that this wasn’t a mechanical collapse or a prolonged slump without cause. The concern is that bone bruises don’t follow schedules, and the Yankees are in the middle of a pennant race with no margin to absorb a lengthy absence.
New York is still 36-24. The roster is built to weather this if it stays short.
If it doesn’t, the AL East race gets a lot more interesting in a hurry.
Yankees Get Aaron Judge Injury Answer After Recent Struggles