Aaron Judge went hitless again in his third game back after missing two months with a left oblique strain.
The right fielder is now 0-for-10 with four strikeouts, two runs and a walk in 12 plate appearances.
Following Sunday’s 9-4 loss to the Astros in The Bronx, Aaron Boone said Judge hasn’t returned to form, but he believes he will soon.
Asked how Judge’s at-bats have looked, the manager said, “All right. He’s obviously not locked in yet.”
Boone added, “Judge is about the last guy I worry about. It’s truly a matter of time. When he locks it in real good, you know it’s gonna be on base and power for days.”
Judge provided his lone highlight Saturday, when he threw out Max Stassi, as Stassi tried to stretch a single into a double.
On Sunday, Judge hit a hard liner into the shift and drove in a run with a groundout in the eighth.
“I feel like he’s finding his timing right now and it’s a lot closer than the results, probably,’’ Boone said of Judge, who went straight to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for his rehab before rejoining the Yankees.
DJ LeMahieu’s eighth-inning triple left him just a double short of the cycle. He had three hits — including a three-run homer — and scored two runs.
His home run off Justin Verlander in the fifth was the 10th of the year for LeMahieu, just five shy of his career-high, set last season in Colorado.
Ben Heller, rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, made his first rehab appearance for Single-A Tampa. The right-hander allowed a hit and a walk and struck out one in ²/₃ of an inning against Bradenton.