Aaron Judge surprisingly pinch-hit for in 6th inning vs. Twins

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was due up in the top of the sixth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Twins.

The Yankees were down 2-0, and there was one out with a runner on first. Instead of Judge coming to the plate with a chance to tie the game, he was pinch-hit for, and Heliot Ramos got the plate appearance. Ramos struck out, and New York was unable to push a run across.

Judge missed 84 games this season due to a fracture in his right rib. While his removal could be something that manager Aaron Boone had planned for with an upcoming off day, there is concern that Judge’s third-inning strikeout may have tweaked something.

Minnesota was pitching right-handed Zebby Matthews. Judge is 1-for-4 against him in his career, with an RBI, a walk and two strikeouts. Ramos hadn’t faced him in his career, making it seem like the substitution wasn’t matchup-based.

Boone will almost assuredly address the change after the game, and this article will be updated to reflect any comments.

Judge had a bad day at the plate before being removed. He was 0-for-2 with two strikeouts, both swinging.

This was only the slugger’s seventh game back in action. Over the previous six, Judge was 4-for-21 with 1 home run, 3 RBI and 11 strikeouts. Adding the two from Wednesday’s game, 13 of Judge’s 23 at-bats since his return have ended in strikeouts.

This article will be updated.