Twenty-six days after an ill-fated swing in Baltimore, the Yankees welcome back arguably their best hitter today. Gary Sanchez is back in the lineup following nearly four weeks on the disabled list with a biceps issue. He completed his minor league rehab assignment yesterday — Sanchez went 3-for-8 (.375) with a double and a homer in three rehab games — and is in the starting lineup today.
Amazingly, rather than fall apart without Sanchez, the Yankees went 16-5 while he was on the disabled list. They’re also averaging 5.69 runs per game, easily the most in the AL. (The Mariners are second at 4.90.) Big ups to Austin Romine. He was pretty awesome during Sanchez’s absence. Romine didn’t just help keep the Yankees afloat, he helped them thrive. His contributions will not be forgotten. Here is the Cubs’ lineup and here is the Yankees’ lineup:
- LF Brett Gardner
- CF Aaron Hicks
- C Gary Sanchez
- 2B Starlin Castro
- RF Aaron Judge
- SS Didi Gregorius
- 3B Chase Headley
- 1B Chris Carter
- RHP Michael Pineda
It’s a good thing this series is in Chicago, because it is cold and raining in New York. It is merely just cold at Wrigley Field. Also, the wind is blowing in big time, so it’ll take a shot to hit a ball out of the park this afternoon. (Aaron Judge accepts that challenge.) Today’s game will begin at 2:20pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy the game.
Injury Update: Jacoby Ellsbury (elbow) is feeling better, though he is not available for this afternoon’s game. He’s still receiving treatment and did hit in the batting cage today. Ellsbury could be ready to play as soon as tomorrow, however.
Roster Note: Joe Girardi said he plans to play Matt Holliday at first base at some point during this five-game road trip through NL cities. He doesn’t want him sitting on the bench all five games. I had a feeling this was coming.
Roster Move: As expected, Kyle Higashioka was sent down to Triple-A Scranton to clear a roster spot for Sanchez. He’ll be back at some point. September as an expanded roster call-up at the latest.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.