Alert – Aaron Judge says X-ray is NEGATIVE but he is ‘P***ED’ at pitcher who hit him on the left hand by 94mph fastball, forcing him out of Yankees vs Orioles

Aaron Judge gave the Yankees a major injury scare on Tuesday night when he was hit on the left hand by a 94mph pitch from Albert Suarez in the game against Baltimore Orioles.

Judge stayed out on the field and went round for a run but after giving his teammates a couple of right-handed fist bumps in the dugout, headed straight into the clubhouse. He left the stadium and headed to Columbia Oresbyterian hospital for an X-Ray and CT scan, which came back negative.

‘Feeling better after getting some good news. X-ray and CT scans came back negative. Finding out it is not fractured, not broken is relief. Getting that good news is a good thing,’ a visibly relieved Judge said, before admitting he was not happy with pitcher Suarez. 

‘Definitely p***ed. There was a couple balls up and in. It’s part of it, they like to throw in.’

Dodgers star Mookie Betts fractured his left hand in an identical incident over the weekend. Judge had brief treatment from two trainers and did appear in pain before ultimately making the walk to first.

Aaron Judge got hit on the left hand by a 94mph pitch in Yankees vs Orioles on Tuesday night

Judge stayed out on the field after treatment but Trent Grisham then came in as pinch-hitter 

Judge reappeared at the top of the fourth and took his place in center field but just as Yankee Stadium thought it was safe to breathe a collective sigh of relief, Trent Grisham took his place in the batting lineup as pinch hitter. The Yankees went on to win the game 4-2. 

Any injury at all for Judge would have been a disaster for the Yankees, who went into Tuesday’s game in New York with the best record in baseball as the first team to hit 50 wins. 

Judge has hit 26 home runs so far this season for the Yankees and his partnership with Juan Soto in the batting order has made the team one of the favorites to win the World Series. 

He is on course for another season that could put him in contention for the MVP award and, if he stays healthy, could even rival his record-setting 62 home run season in 2022.

The timing is also frustrating for the Yankees given that Cy Young winning pitcher Gerrit Cole is scheduled to return from injury and make his first start of the season on Wednesday. 

The Yankees didn’t have manager Aaron Boone in the dugout during the incident – he missed part of the game to attend his son’s graduation before taking his place back with the team shortly after 9pm local time.

‘We’re waiting for the doctor,’ Boone said after the win on Tuesday night. ‘He had the X-Ray. He (Judge) was just serious, focused on getting the test done. It was precaution (to take him out the game). 

‘Obviously it is not what you want to hear, it is scary. We will see what the doctor has got.’

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the fears around Judge’s condition were ‘scary’

The Yankees had earlier said in a statement: ‘Aaron Judge left tonight’s game in the 4th inning after being hit by a pitch in the left hand. 

‘He will undergo imaging at New York-Presbyterian this evening and is expected to be seen by Yankees Head Team Physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad.’

It also comes days after first baseman Anthony Rizzo fractured his arm over the weekend against the Boston Red Sox. He could miss up to eight weeks.

There was more concern for the Yankees at the bottom of the fifth when Gleyber Torres was also hit by a pitch. 

Baltimore pitcher Suarez had been taken out of the game for Keegan Akin, who struck Torres with only his third pitch, but he was ok to continue.

‘We’re obviously p***ed off,’ Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes said. ‘Regardless of if it is Judge or not. Part of the game but he shouldn’t be throwing that close to him. It shouldn’t be like that.’