NEW YORK _ Say hello to the newest Yankees leadoff hitter, Aaron Judge.
The 27-year-old right fielder returned to the Bronx Bombers' lineup in Friday's 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros. He batted No. 1 for the first time in his big league career, following a two-month stint on the injured list prompted by a strained left oblique.
Judge looked like a traditional leadoff man in his first at-bat, working the count full and fouling off a pitch before grounding out to first base. He struck out swinging and looking, respectively, in his next two at-bats before flying out to right to end the seventh.
The second strikeout preceded a Gary Sanchez two-run homer, extending the Yankees' streak of consecutive games with a home run to 24. Judge's flyout came three batters after a Gleyber Torres two-run shot.
In his pregame presser, manager Aaron Boone gave the standard "glad to have him back" response to Judge's return and explained the decision to move him to the top of the lineup.
"Trying to get my best players up there as much as possible," Boone said, unable to contain a smirk.
DJ LeMahieu _ who has thrived in the leadoff spot to the tune of a .307 average and 41 runs scored _ got the day off, as did Luke Voit.
Outfielder Aaron Hicks revealed before the game that he received a cortisone shot to combat inflammation in his right (throwing) shoulder. However, he was pressed into action in the fourth inning after Cameron Maybin left the game with an apparent injury.
Given those constraints, "I just felt like it made the most sense, with Hicks down, I thought (leadoff) was the right spot" for Judge, Boone said.
Judge hit No. 2 in the order in his first 20 games, exiting in the sixth inning of an April 20 win over the Royals before being placed on the 10-day injured list.
The 6-foot-7 slugger did not speak with the media prior to Friday's game, having already done so on Thursday.
"When I get back on the field, I've got to play. I'm not going to try to baby (the oblique injury), or go at 80 percent," Judge told reporters. "I'm in the major leagues, I've got to go at 100 percent.
And, he added, "We're ready to go."
Boone has, at least in the press, toyed with the idea of batting Judge leadoff in the past. His career on-base percentage is right around .400, although the numbers have been better against lefty pitchers (.427 in 2018, .563 this year) than righties (.377-.370).
The Yankees faced Houston right-hander Brad Peacock in Friday's second game of four.
Prior to his injury, Judge was batting .274 with five homers, 11 RBIs and 13 runs scored this spring. He had two walks in three career plate appearances against Peacock going in.
Of course, there is no better time to experiment than during a six-game win streak that has boosted the Yankees' AL East lead to 4 { games over the Rays.
"Having the flexibility that we have, and the quality we have, hopefully should allow us to play (all) these guys very regularly," Boone said, "but also keep them fresh at the same time."
Judge's return left the Yankees with five outfielders, as the team elected to option left-hander Nestor Cortes to the minors to make room. That kept the surging Maybin on the 25-man roster, a move that Boone noted was unrelated to Hicks' injury status.
"We don't think it's anything more than a day or two," the manager said.
Hicks said that his shoulder started to hurt "about a week-and-a-half ago" and that he thought it was impacting his performance.
However, he also sounded unconcerned about its severity, given that an MRI came back clear.
The switch-hitting outfielder had just four hits in his previous nine games dating to June 8. His batting average sagged from .228 to .198 during the span.
