The New York Yankees went through a few lineup changes before Sunday’s first pitch in the Bronx, which included Gleyber Torres and Jose Trevino being scratched.
Manager Aaron Boone said that Torres was under the weather, but the team wasn’t worried that it was COVID. Trevino was dealing with a “little back thing” that he played through on Saturday and was still dealing with it when he arrived at the ballpark on Sunday.
“He obviously played very well with it,” Boone said of Trevino’s back issue. “Came in with it still lingering today, so with the off-day tomorrow ahead of 20 in a row, it isn’t something I want to mess with with him. He’s available too, so treat it like a normal day where he’s on the bench. Pinch-hitting situations and things like that he’s good to go, but just something we didn’t want to mess with.”
Trevino was just getting treatment on his back and the Yankees skipper said there was no need for tests on it. Things started to act up on Saturday, but he had been able to get through it without issue.
Torres, who is dealing with a stomach issue, and Trevino had both been listed to play on the Yankees’ original lineup when it was released Sunday morning. The New York catcher was the first of the two to be scratched shortly after the lineup was publicized and then a second update shortly before Boone spoke with reporters took out Torres.
Kyle Higashioka started behind the plate and DJ LeMahieu took over Torres’ spot at second.
Yankees Update on Aroldis Chapman
Aroldis Chapman threw his first bullpen session on Saturday since he went on the injured list on May 24 due to left Achilles tendonitis. He will throw another bullpen on the field on Tuesday, Boone said.
The Yankee closer has had a tough season so far, with a 3.86 ERA in 14 innings of work prior to the injury. The injury has allowed Clay Holmes to usurp Chapman as the team’s closer.
20-game stretch on the horizon for Yankees
The Yankees will get a day off on Monday before they start a stretch that will see New York play 20 games over the 20 days starting with Tampa Bay Rays’ visit to Yankee Stadium starting Tuesday. The Yankees will also see the Houston Astros five times during the 20-day span as well.
New York held a seven-game lead over the Astros for the top spot in the American League heading into Sunday’s final game between the Yankees and Chicago Cubs. The Rays trailed the Bombers by nine games for the division going into Sunday.
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“We are coming up against a stretch of some really good teams,” Boone said. “I mean you look forward to that. You love playing against other great opponents and we know we’ll have our work cut out for us here in those next couple of weeks, especially in the stretch when we’re playing ever single day. I think our guys really look forward to that. They look forward to playing against the best competition and the teams we’re going to see are all teams that are obviously playing really well.”
New York will face the Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Guardians as well during the 20-game span. The Yankees had to deal with a simial situation earlier in the season due to the weather forcing games to be postponed.
