DJ LeMahieu scratched from Yankees lineup after taking ball to face in warmups

A tough season for DJ LeMahieu took a painful turn Friday. 

The Yankees infielder was scratched from the lineup with a facial contusion after he was struck in the face with a ball during warm-ups.

The Yankees said LeMahieu was pulled for “precautionary” reasons in a move that was announced just 13 minutes before the scheduled first pitch of an eventual 3-0 win over the Rockies in The Bronx. 

LeMahieu was getting reps at first base during infield practice and caught one ball as another drilled him.

He grabbed at his face and hustled into the dugout, where he went down.

Gleyber Torres ran off the field to sit with him and put his hand on his shoulder as a trainer tended to LeMahieu. 

The trainer appeared to check on LeMahieu’s jaw for several moments before LeMahieu walked down the tunnel and into the clubhouse under his own power.

Aaron Boone said LeMahieu had loosened a tooth. 

“Think he kind of wanted to play, but we erred on the side of caution,” Boone said of LeMahieu, who he said was in “pretty good spirits.” 

LeMahieu had been penciled in to play first base and bat ninth against lefty Kyle Freeland before Ben Rice replaced him and went 1-for-3 with a strikeout. 

The 36-year-old LeMahieu typically has only been getting starts against southpaws during the worst season of his career.

The two-time batting champion is hitting just .189 with a .512 OPS that entered play as the third-worst in all of baseball among hitters who had logged at least 200 plate appearances. 

There have been few signs of a turnaround from an aging player who has dealt with several foot/toe injuries in the past few seasons.

LeMahieu was 2-for-19 in his past six games and had hit two home runs in 62 games this season. 

This season has hurt, and on Friday it did literally.