Giants’ Posey out, Crawford in lineup day after injuries

Associated PressAug 25, 2021, 7:39 PM EDT
Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
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NEW YORK — Buster Posey was out of the lineup for the San Francisco Giants a night after leaving a game with left knee discomfort, while Brandon Crawford was set to play shortstop after experiencing lower back tightness.

Manager Gabe Kapler said both players were encouraged by how they felt arriving to the park Wednesday.

Posey, 34, was pulled in the fifth inning Tuesday night during an 8-0 victory against the Mets after plate umpire Greg Gibson told Kapler that Posey seemed off.

Kapler said the seven-time All-Star was moving well Wednesday and planned to test his knee in a catcher’s squat during batting practice. Curt Casali was set to start at catcher either way.

“As of right now, it’s just kind of good news,” Kapler said. “But obviously these things take twists and turns, so we’ll keep an eye on it.”

Posey has had a resurgent year after skipping the 2020 coronavirus-shortened season when he and his wife adopted twin girls that were born prematurely. The 2012 NL MVP singled and scored in the fourth inning Tuesday to raise his batting average to .314 with 39 RBIs and a .925 OPS.

The 34-year-old Crawford was slated to bat fifth a day after being lifted in the seventh inning. Kapler said Crawford felt some tightness prior to Tuesday’s game, and with San Francisco blowing out New York, the club got him out off his feet.

Crawford is hitting .300 with 19 homers, 71 RBIs and an .898 OPS, earning his first All-Star nod since 2018.

“We want to be out in front of any tightness,” Kapler said, adding that the team is committed to giving rest to veterans Crawford, Posey, Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt when issues arise.

Belt was back in the lineup after his grandmother died Tuesday morning. Belt homered twice Tuesday and dedicated the hits to his grandmother. Kapler said the funeral service had been scheduled for Friday and that Belt would be leaving the team to attend.

Right-hander Johnny Cueto was activated from the injured list prior to the game and set to make his 20th start. The 35-year-old has been out since Aug. 9 with a right flexor strain.

Aaron Judge hits 18th homer of season, Yankees beat Mariners 10-2

Associated PressMay 31, 2023, 1:13 AM EDT
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SEATTLE (AP) Aaron Judge homered for the third time in two games, Anthony Volpe and Greg Allen also went deep and the New York Yankees stretched their winning streak to four with a 10-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

Judge hit a towering fly ball on the first pitch of the seventh inning from reliever Darren McCaughan that carried just enough to clear the fence in left-center field, even if it would not have been a homer at Yankee Stadium.

It was the 18th of the season for Judge, who hit a pair of homers in the series opener on Monday night.

While Judge hitting another homer will get the headlines, it was Volpe’s long ball that broke open the game. With two outs in the third inning, Seattle starter Logan Gilbert caught too much of the plate with a 1-2 slider and Volpe drove the pitch 413 feet for a three-run shot and a 6-0 lead. It was Volpe’s eighth homer of the season and snapped a 2-for-22 slide for the rookie.

Allen, filling in for injured center fielder Harrison Bader, hit his first of the season leading off the fourth inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa also had a key two-run single in the first inning as the Yankees took advantage of an error to give starter Nestor Cortes a 3-0 advantage before he took the mound.

Kiner-Falefa had another two-run single in the ninth. New York has scored at least 10 runs in three straight games for the first time since Sept. 15-17, 2020.

Cortes (5-2) mostly cruised through five innings, allowing two runs and five hits with six strikeouts. Ty France and Teoscar Hernández had RBI doubles in the fifth inning. Judge nearly stole another hit from Hernández after robbing him of a homer on Monday, but his diving attempt at Hernández’s liner fell for a double.

Gilbert (3-3) lasted just four innings for the second time this season. The five earned runs allowed were a season-high and the four strikeouts matched a season-low.

SEE YA LATER

Seattle catcher Tom Murphy and manager Scott Servais were both ejected by plate umpire Brian Walsh in the sixth inning. Murphy was ejected after yelling toward first base umpire C.B. Bucknor following a check-swing that was called a strike. Servais argued the decision to eject Murphy and was quickly tossed by Walsh. It was the second ejection this season for Servais.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: Bader (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day IL after leaving Monday’s game in the third inning injuring his right hamstring running out an infield single. OF Franchy Cordero was recalled.

Mariners: McCaughan was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to add a long reliever to the bullpen. RHP Juan Then was optioned to Tacoma. It was Seattle’s first roster move in 24 days.

UP NEXT

Yankees: RHP Clarke Schmidt (2-5, 5.58) took the loss despite allowing only one earned run over five innings in his last start against Baltimore. Schmidt has gone at least five inning in five of his last seven starts.

Mariners: RHP George Kirby (5-4, 3.43) was knocked around for seven earned runs and four home runs allowed in his last start against Pittsburgh. Both matched career highs.

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