Friday night’s tarp came off at roughly 3:40 p.m. Saturday — dicey forecast, middle game of a three-game set, Dodgers in the Bronx with a chance to keep rolling. The Yankees, meanwhile, spent the day shuffling the margins of a roster that just lost its centerpiece.
Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.81 ERA) got the ball for Los Angeles against Yankees lefty Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.15), as first reported by Pete Caldera of NorthJersey.com. The Yankees dropped Friday’s opener 2-1, and the more consequential action happened 130 miles north in Scranton.
Max Fried made his first minor-league rehab start at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, throwing 52 pitches across three innings against the Red Sox affiliate. He gave up two runs, walked nobody, struck out three. Fried has been down with a bone bruise in his left elbow and will make at least one more rehab outing before the Yankees plug him back into the rotation.
Shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr., activated from the injured list after spraining fingers on his left hand, went 2-for-3 with a walk and a home run in the same Scranton game. Caldera noted Lombard has a chance to reach the Bronx before September.
Two more arms took steps forward. Carlos Rodon, shelved with left elbow inflammation, threw 10 pitches off a mound Friday — the precursor to a bullpen session that hasn’t been scheduled yet. Clarke Schmidt threw a simulated inning Saturday, his first time facing live batters since Tommy John surgery last summer.
The roster math got grimmer earlier in the day. The Yankees signed right-hander Bradley Hanner to a big-league contract, optioned him to Triple-A, and transferred Aaron Judge to the 60-day injured list to clear the 40-man spot. Judge has a rib fracture. That transaction is the one that stings — the 60-day move means the earliest possible return pushes deep into the season’s back half, and the Yankees’ offense has already been gasping for air without him.
Friday’s FOX Game of the Day featured the Giants (42-55) visiting the Mariners (48-50) at T-Mobile Park, with Logan Webb (5-7, 3.86 ERA) matched against Bryan Woo (7-6, 4.23 ERA). Saturday’s FOX window belongs to Dodgers-Yankees — a 62-36 Los Angeles club walking into a stadium where the home team is patching together a rotation and waiting on its best player.
The Dodgers didn’t come to the Bronx for sympathy. They came to win series, and through two games they’ve done exactly that.
Sources
- Yahoo Sports / NorthJersey.com — Yankees announce Saturday night lineup vs. Dodgers
- r/baseball — FOX Game of the Day 7/18: Giants @ Mariners
- r/baseball — FOX Game of the Day 7/19: Dodgers @ Yankees