Yankees, Indians set for doubleheader (Aug 30, 2017)
NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge is getting a chance to refresh and possibly get out of his extensive slump.
Judge sat out Monday's series opener against the Cleveland Indians and was not in the lineup for Tuesday's game before it was rained out approximately three hours before the scheduled first pitch.
The All-Star slugger will likely be in the lineup for at least one of the games in Wednesday's doubleheader.
Judge is second in the majors with 37 homers but is 1-for-12 on the homestand and has two hits in his last 18 at-bats.
The right fielder batted .329 with 30 homers and 66 RBIs in his first 84 games, but since the All-Star break Judge is hitting .179 (26-for-145) with seven homers, 16 RBIs and 65 strikeouts.
"Sometimes you just hope it refreshes a guy," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "They can sit back and relax and maybe take a little bit off their plate and they can get going again. It's worked a lot for a lot of guys. I can't tell you exactly what's going to happen, but physically I think he's going to feel a lot fresher than he probably did and you hope mentally he does."
Judge also has been getting treatment on his shoulder recently but Girardi said he hasn't complained of any injury.
"I talked to him, he feels fine," Girardi said. "We've seen him hit balls 500 feet, so again I think it's mechanically he's off and we are doing everything we can to get him back on track, so that's what we're doing."
Whether Judge starts one game or both, he will be facing a team on a roll of late.
The Indians are on a five-game winning streak and 14-4 in their last 18 after opening the series with a 6-2 victory.
The Indians will start Trevor Bauer in the opener but instead of pitching scheduled starter Josh Tomlin in the second game, Ryan Merritt will get the nod.
Bauer will be looking to extend his career-best winning streak to seven decisions. Last Thursday, he allowed four runs over 5 1/3 innings as the Indians beat the Boston Red Sox 13-6.
Since his most recent loss on July 16, Bauer is 6-0 with a 2.54 ERA in eight games (seven starts), a stretch in which he has lowered his overall ERA from 5.59 to 4.59.
Bauer is 2-4 with a 4.62 ERA in eight career starts against the Yankees. On Aug. 4, he allowed one run in seven innings during a 7-2 win in Cleveland.
Tomlin was looking forward to joining in the success of Cleveland's rotation after missing a month with a strained left hamstring but his return will instead occur this weekend in Detroit.
"They've done an unbelievable job," Tomlin said. "We talked about it last year, when one man goes down, the next man steps up and does their part. I think it kind of speaks to our organization as a whole -- the depth that we have."
Merritt is 1-0 with a 1.76 ERA in four appearances (three starts) and was involved in Cleveland's 30-inning scoreless streak by pitching 6 2/3 innings during Friday's 4-0 win over the Kansas City Royals.
The left-hander will be starting in a doubleheader for the second time this season. He allowed three runs and seven hits in four innings during the opener of a split doubleheader at Minnesota June 17.
Jaime Garcia will start the opener for the Yankees and seeks his first win since being acquired from Minnesota July 30.
Garcia is 0-1 with a 5.95 ERA in four starts for the Yankees. He didn't factor into the decision Thursday, when he gave up four runs (two earned) over four innings as New York fell to the Detroit Tigers 10-6.
He hasn't won since earning the victory in his lone start with the Twins on July 28, which was also the most recent start in which he completed at least six innings.
Garcia lost his only start against the Indians on Aug. 4, when he allowed six runs (five earned) over 4 2/3 innings in his Yankees debut.
Jordan Montgomery will make his 24th start for the Yankees, who decided to push CC Sabathia back a day so he can open the four-game series with the Boston Red Sox.
Montgomery allowed a run on three hits over five innings during a no-decision in New York's 2-1 win at Cleveland on Aug. 5. He was optioned to the minors after that start but wound up making two starts against the Red Sox.
Montgomery last pitched for the Yankees Aug. 18 at Boston, when he allowed three runs and four hits in five innings. He owns a 2.93 ERA in his last three starts after posting a 5.90 mark in six starts last month.
The Yankees will be playing their third doubleheader this season. They split doubleheaders against the Houston Astros May 14 and in Boston July 16.
The Indians are playing their fourth doubleheader. Cleveland swept Minnesota June 17 before getting splits at Detroit July 1 and Minnesota Aug. 17.
Cleveland also is playing a split doubleheader Friday in Detroit.
