BRONX, NY — New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo fractured his right hand off a pitch at the bottom of the seventh inning by Pirates reliever Ryan Borucki, revealed manager Aaron Boone.
“We’ll see what we have as the week moves forward. It doesn’t totally rule him out,” Boone said. “It’s something that’s a pain tolerance thing, so we’ll see as the days unfold here what we have.”
The pitch broke a bone between Rizzo’s fourth and fifth fingers on his right hand — his glove hand, said M.D. Christopher Ahmad, the Yankees team doctor.
“He’s actually pretty upbeat and saying ‘I’ll be ok,’” Boone said. “But we’ll see as the week unfolds what his tolerance is and what’s realistic. But right now, I think he’s trying to just have a positive frame of mind, and Dr. Ahmad said the injury is a pain tolerance thing. It’s not something that you’re in jeopardy when you play.”
Oswaldo Cabrera and Ben Rice are possible substitutes at first base if Rizzo is unable to play, per Boone.
“We got Ben Rice that’s been playing really well down in Scranton,” said Boone. “So he could be in the mix too, we’ll see.”