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Yankees’ Aaron Judge set to make long-awaited outfield return
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- Yankees’ Aaron Judge set to make long-awaited outfield return
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The post Yankees' Aaron Judge set to make long-awaited outfield return appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The New York Yankees open a massive series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night. They return to The Bronx three games behind the Jays for the American League East lead. Yankees captain Aaron Judge is making his return to right field for the first time since he suffered a flexor strain injury in his right elbow.
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" Aaron Judge will start in right field for the Yankees tonight," ESPN's Jorge Castillo reported.
Judge has not played right field since July 25, when he suffered a flexor strain. He returned on August 5 and has been a designated hitter ever since. Giancarlo Stanton has been trusted in the field since the injury , and his offense has been dominant. But moving him back to designated hitter helps the Yankees' defense, which has been a problem in recent years.
Judge will bat second for the Yankees and play right field on Friday night against the Blue Jays. This season, his offense has been much better in games where he plays the field. In 80 games in right field, he has a .347 batting average and 1.127 OPS. In 47 games as the designated hitter, he has a .282 batting average and 1.074 OPS.
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Judge will need to turn up his offense to get the Yankees a division championship. They have not played well against playoff competition this season, but they can turn that around this week. They face the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox after the three-game set against the Blue Jays.
The other notable change in the Yankees' lineup is at shortstop. Anthony Volpe is out on Friday in favor of Jose Caballero for the third time this season. It seemed like Volpe had broken out of his slump against the White Sox , but he went 1-11 against the Houston Astros . Jazz Chisholm Jr is in the lineup after leaving Thursday's game with two knee contusions.
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