KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he didn’t have the hot-hitting Aaron Judge within the lineup because he expected him to play all three games in Toronto this week.
“It’s hard to maintain him out,” Boone said of Judge, who had five homers in his previous seven games, all wins.
Boone also has said repeatedly he doesn’t anticipate any players not having the ability to play attributable to COVID-19 regulations in Canada.
The Yankees, who defeated the Royals 3-0 on Saturday night, will even join the growing list of teams which might be going to take the two-hour bus ride from Toronto to Buffalo to avoid having to have a negative COVID test to cross the border by air.
The Red Sox and Astros are among the many other teams which have similar travel plans from Toronto, wary of losing players to a positive test.
Aaron JudgeDavid Seelig/Cal Sport Media/CSM
The Yankees’ 13-game streak without an error was snapped when Isiah Kiner-Falefa couldn’t handle Salvador Perez’s sharp grounder to open the underside of the season.
The stretch had matched the second longest streak in franchise history, set in 2012. The team record is an 18-game errorless stretch in 2009.
“It’s a priority,’’ Boone said before the sport of the team’s defense. “Up to now we’ve been good, nevertheless it’s April.”
Gleyber Torres’ improved performance on the plate continued with two more hits and an RBI. Including his pinch-hit, game-winning hit on April 21, Torres is 9-for-24 with three extra-base hits and 7 RBIs.
“He’s been an enormous a part of this [winning streak],’’ Boone said.
The Yankees can have to make some decisions before they face the Blue Jays on Monday, since MLB rosters can have to be trimmed by two players to 26.
Reliever Clarke Schmidt may be a candidate to go down, since he has minor league options remaining and hasn’t pitched much currently.
Boone said before the sport Saturday he believed there was still a task for Schmidt, even with fellow right-hander Michael King capable of provide length from the bullpen.
Boone said, “possibly,” when asked if there can be room for each.
”We’ll see where we’re after Sunday night and what our needs are,” he said.
Schmidt has had a promising begin to the season, allowing only one earned run over 7 ¹/₃ innings, but he entered Saturday with just three appearances on the yr, most recently on April 19, when he tossed 3 ¹/₃ shutout innings in relief of Gerrit Cole in Detroit.
The 26-year-old Schmidt may be higher served pitching more frequently at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, no less than in the meanwhile. He is also built up as a starter there in case the Yankees need assistance in that department, but there are some scouts that consider Schmidt is well-suited to the role he’s in now due to his pitch mix.
