HOUSTON — Aaron Judge was the designated hitter Thursday and Friday and not in the starting lineup Saturday against the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Manager Joe Girardi said he knows there are people who think Judge is hurt, but insisted that isn’t the reason for the DH work or using Clint Frazier in right field Saturday.
“I just think he needs a physical day,’’ Girardi said of Judge, who led the AL in 11 offensive categories and was second in the other going into Saturday’s heartbreaking, 7-6 loss. “He is going to take BP and take balls in the outfield. I encouraged him not to do that, to rest. He feels that is part of his day, part of who he is. If I need him, he is definitely available and he will be in right field [Sunday].’’
Girardi used Judge as a pinch hitter in the ninth and he fouled out.
Judge’s last day off was May 8 in Cincinnati.
“I didn’t [Friday] night,’’ Judge said when asked if he liked being the DH. He went 0-for-4 Friday. “I usually do. I like playing defense. I feel more locked in when I am playing defense. That’s the challenge of being a DH, find a way to lock yourself in.’’
Judge will be announced as an AL All-Star on Sunday and could announce what he will do about participating in the Home Run Derby.
Girardi is planning for CC Sabathia to come off the DL on Tuesday and start against the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.
“I am looking to put him in Tuesday, but there is no guarantee until Tuesday,’’ Girardi said.
Sabathia, who is 7-2 with a 3.46 ERA in 13 starts, has been out since suffering a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring on June 13.
Reliever Adam Warren will throw an inning in a simulated game Sunday and could come off the DL Tuesday with Sabathia.
“Not Monday, but shortly after,’’ Girardi said of Warren, who has been on the shelf with an inflamed right shoulder since June 13.
Girardi said Matt Holliday is “pretty much the same.’’ Holliday is on the DL with a viral infection that has zapped his energy. The manager said Starlin Castro, who took batting practice Saturday is “doing better.’’
Castro is on the DL with a strained right hamstring.
With a double and homer in his first major league game Clint Frazier is the first Yankee since 1913 to do that.
Brett Gardner’s vow this week to start using his lower half more at the plate has paid dividends.
Gardner started Thursday night’s action in a 5-for-36 (.139) slide that had his batting average at .253. After going 2-for-4 Saturday Gardner is riding a 8-for-18 (.444) hot streak that included a grand slam and six RBIs Friday.
“I tried to do it,’’ Gardner said of using the legs. “But sometimes the body doesn’t do what you want it to do.’’
If the first three months of the season are an indication, Gardner is headed for a solid July.
He batted .205 (15-for-73) with a .318 on-base percentage in April. May was much better since he hit .327 (33-for-101) with nine homers, 21 RBIs, a .400 on-base percentage and a OPS of 1.073 in 26 games. June resembled April until Friday night. Even with the big game, Gardner finished the third month of a six-month gig hitting .239 (27-for-113) with a .296 on-base average.
Jacoby Ellsbury hiked his hitting streak to 14 games with a fourth-inning single. It is the second longest active streak in the majors behind Yadier Molina’s 16.
Since returning from the DL on June 26, Ellsbury has hit in five straight games and had a nine-game hitting streak working when he suffered a concussion on May 24 when he crashed into the center-field fence at Yankee Stadium. During the streak Ellsbury is 16-for-60 (.267).