NEW YORK — For the second straight night, a New York Yankees win over their rival Boston Red Sox was tarnished by in-game injuries.
This time, infielders Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela gave the Bronx Bombers a scare when both left Sunday’s game due to respective injuries. At the moment, the update on Urshela is promising, while uncertainty continues to loom over Torres’ status.
According to Yankees manager Aaron Boone, Torres left Yankee Stadium late in the Bronx Bombers’ 7-4 win and was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he underwent tests related to a core issue. Boone declined to say how the injury occurred or to provide any further details related to it. He wanted to wait until the results of the testing came back.
ESPN’s Buster Olney noted following Torres’ first-inning groundout to third base that he appeared to be in some discomfort running down the first-base line. Torres ended up staying in the game for a while until he was replaced in the eighth inning by DJ LeMahieu.
At this time, there’s no indication if Torres will end up joining the Yankees in Baltimore on Monday for their road series opener against the Orioles.
“GT’s tough,” Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge said. “Hope he shows up for Baltimore. He likes to hit at Camden Yards. So it would be nice to have him for sure.”
In 13 career games in Baltimore, Torres is batting .432 with eight homers and 14 RBIs. Seven of those eight have come in trips to the Inner Harbor this year. The exact cause of Urshela’s injuries was plainly visible to the nearly 47,300 present in the Bronx on Sunday, and the countless more watching the nationally televised game elsewhere.
In the sixth inning, with no runners on and two out, Urshela was embroiled in a difficult at-bat with Red Sox reliever Ryan Weber when he fouled two pitches off one leg each. First, he blasted an 89.9 mph sinker into a spot just above his right knee. Two pitches later, he sent another 89.9 mph sinker into his left shin.
After the first foul ball, Urshela hobbled around behind home plate, bending at the waist to gather himself as Boone and a trainer came out to evaluate him. Urshela ended up staying in the game only to instantly hit the ground when he sent the second ball off his left leg.
“He goes down and you’re just like, ‘Man,'” Boone said.
Eventually, Urshela was helped to his feet after Boone and head athletic trainer Steve Donohue came out to see him. As he gathered himself to step back in the batter’s box, the sold-out crowd began chanting, “Gio! Gio!”
“I was going up and down the dugout saying he’s going to hit a home run right here,” Judge said.
He didn’t. Urshela chopped the next pitch he saw back to Weber, who threw out the gingerly running Urshela easily at first base to end the inning. Boone came out one more time to check on his third baseman and ultimately left him in the game.
Two and a half innings later, though, Urshela had to depart.
“As the inning wore on and into the next inning, it seemed like it was stiffening up on him,” Boone said, “so it was at that point, it was time to take him out.”
X-rays were negative on both of Urshela’s legs. He iced both and got them wrapped around the areas where he was struck. The wraps were so heavily constructed that as he prepared himself to speak with reporters following the game, Urshela had trouble putting on his pants around his right leg.
Sort of frustrated after trying to slip into the pant leg, he beckoned the reporters over and asked them to speak to him while he stood there half-wearing his pants. Once the brief session was over, he sat down and was able to wiggle into the other pant leg.
“Feel better than I did during the game,” Urshela said. “A little swollen.”
For now, he said, he plans on being in Monday’s lineup in Baltimore.
Sunday’s injuries came the day after the Yankees lost Edwin Encarnacion (hairline fracture in his right wrist) and Aaron Hicks (right flexor strain) to the injured list. Both could be out a significant amount of time, but the Yankees are hopeful they will return with several weeks of the season remaining.
They were the latest to go on the Yankees’ exhaustive, 16-man injured list.
“This whole team’s tough. Everyone’s tough,” Judge said. “We know what we’ve been through. So that’s why it motivates a lot of us. We know how hard everybody’s working and how beat up everybody is, and we’ve got to stay in there and keep fighting.
“We still have a lot of season left to play and a lot of baseball to play in October. We’re just going to keep moving along, and the next guy is going to step up and keep doing his job. That’s the coolest thing about this team is no one’s trying to take the load on themselves. Everyone’s trying to pass the baton and make sure of their responsibilities. I’m going to do my job, and the guy behind me is going to do his job.”
In total, 25 Yankees have spent time on the IL this season. Torres is the lone member of New York’s Opening Day starting lineup to have avoided the IL this year.
“It’s been crazy here in that way, with the amount of things that have happened to guys physically, but it’s also been something that’s been a real rallying cry for us,” Boone said. “And it’s not just brought a level of physical toughness to the room, but it’s forced guys to be mentally tough, as well, and it’s part of the hunger that exists with those guys. They have the mindset that nothing’s going to get in our way, and nothing’s going to stop us. They all kind of pull for each other and know that the next guy is going to do the job.”