Aaron Judge activated by Yankees after missing 10 games - MLB

NEW YORK — Aaron Judge was reinstated from the injured list by the New York Yankees and the record-setting slugger was back in the lineup against the Oakland Athletics.

The reigning AL MVP hadn’t played since April 27 because of a right hip strain. He was batting .261 with six home runs, 14 RBIs and an .863 OPS in 26 games during his first season as Yankees captain.

“To get one of the game’s great players back in your lineup and our leader, and all that he brings between the lines and outside, excited obviously to get him back,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said with a broad smile.

New York (19-17) went 4-6 without Judge, averaging just 3.5 runs per game despite scoring seven in each of the past two. He becomes the second regular in a week to rejoin the injury-riddled Yankees; fellow outfielder Harrison Bader has been on a tear at the plate since coming back from a strained left oblique muscle and making his season debut May 2 versus Cleveland.

“As we get (Judge) back and others, as we’ve seen with Harrison, then you start adding length to the lineup and just making it overall more challenging,” Boone said.

Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (left hamstring strain) and third baseman Josh Donaldson (right hamstring strain) remain on the IL, along with several key pitchers including Luis Severino and Carlos Rodón.

New York began the day last in the highly competitive AL East, 10 games behind first-place Tampa Bay.

To make room for Judge on the active roster, the Yankees optioned left-hander Nick Ramirez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following Monday night’s series opener against Oakland. The move came soon after Ramirez threw 35 pitches over two scoreless innings to close out a 7-2 victory.

New York also placed infielder Oswald Peraza on the 10-day injured list with a right ankle sprain, a retroactive move, and recalled right-hander Greg Weissert from the RailRiders.

Judge said he won’t have any restrictions upon his return but he’ll try to avoid headfirst slides. The 6-foot-7 slugger got hurt on his 31st birthday April 26 in Minnesota when he landed hard while making an awkward headfirst slide attempting to steal third base.

He remained in the game and started the next day at Texas, then left in the fourth inning after striking out twice. Days later, he was placed on the injured list for the seventh time since making his major league debut in 2016.

Judge worked out last weekend at the Yankees’ minor league complex in Tampa, Florida, about 30 minutes from where New York was playing the Rays.

“Full bore. We’ll every day check with him, obviously, and I’ll make sure how he’s doing and stuff,” Boone said. “But no, I’m not looking at him as having any restrictions.”

Judge hit 62 home runs last season to break the American League record held by Roger Maris since 1961. The four-time All-Star batted .311 with 131 RBIs, tying Mets slugger Pete Alonso for most in the majors.

Judge became a free agent in November before re-signing with the Yankees for $360 million over nine years.

Rodón received an injection for his ailing back and the team hopes he’ll begin throwing again this weekend.

NEW YORK — With the stench of smoke permeating Yankee Stadium and wafting through its walkways, Major League Baseball postponed games in New York and Philadelphia on Wednesday night because of poor air quality caused by Canadian wildfires.

A National Women’s Soccer League game in New Jersey and an indoor WNBA game set for Brooklyn were also called off Wednesday amid hazy conditions that have raised alarms from health authorities.

The New York Yankees’ game against the Chicago White Sox was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader starting at 4:05 p.m. on Thursday, and the Philadelphia Phillies’ game against the Detroit Tigers was reset for 6:05 p.m. on Thursday, originally a day off for both teams.

“These postponements were determined following conversations throughout the day with medical and weather experts and all of the impacted clubs regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in both cities,” MLB said in a statement.

The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert for New York City, saying: “the New York State Department of Health recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects.” In Philadelphia, the NWS issued a Code Red.

The Yankees and White Sox played through a lesser haze on Tuesday night. A day later, stadium workers and fans arriving early to the ballpark wore face masks for protection in a scene reminiscent of the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was business as usual for me coming in. I got in around 12, 12:30, and didn’t really think too much of it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I actually walked outside about 2 o’clock and was like – like everyone else, like – whoa.”

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol thought MLB made the right decision postponing the game.

“These are health issues, right? So this has got to be it. We’ve been through everything – snow, rain, hail. I don’t think I’ve been through something like this,” he said. “Today at one point, it was pretty bad out there. We walked out of the dugout and it was kind of orange. They did the right thing. They got all the information.

“I’m assuming if Major League Baseball is comfortable setting up a doubleheader tomorrow, they have some type of information that it should be better than what it is today, or at least safe.”

In Philadelphia, the Phillies beat the Tigers 1-0 on Tuesday night in a game played in hazy conditions with the smell of smoke in the air. Afterward, manager Rob Thomson and his Phillies players said the conditions didn’t affect them.

About a half-hour before Wednesday’s postponement, Thomson said he thought the game would be played. But the Philadelphia skyline could not be seen from the ballpark in the afternoon, and the smoky smell remained.

Minor league teams nearby also changed plans. The Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in Pennsylvania, and the Mets’ top farm club in Syracuse, New York, postponed their games for the second consecutive night.

The Mets’ High-A affiliate in Brooklyn completed a game Wednesday against Greenville that began at 11 a.m.

The WNBA called off a game between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty, saying the decision was made to “protect the health and safety of our fans, teams and community.” A makeup date wasn’t immediately announced.

Even inside Barclays Center at the morning shootaround, reporters could smell smoke in the arena.

The NWSL postponed Orlando’s match at Gotham in Harrison, New Jersey, from Wednesday night to Aug. 9.

“The match could not be safely conducted based on the projected air quality index,” the NWSL said.

At nearby Belmont Park, the New York Racing Association said training went on as planned Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s Triple Crown horse race. However, NYRA canceled training Thursday morning at Belmont and Saratoga Race Course upstate “due to poor air quality conditions forecast to impact New York State overnight and into Thursday morning.”

NYRA said a decision about Thursday’s live racing program, scheduled to begin at 3:05 p.m., will be made Thursday morning “following a review of the air quality conditions and forecast.”

“NYRA utilizes external weather services and advanced on-site equipment to monitor weather conditions and air quality in and around Belmont Park,” spokesman Patrick McKenna said Wednesday. “Training was conducted normally today, and NYRA will continue to assess the overall environment to ensure the safety of training and racing throughout the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.”

New York’s NFL teams, the Giants and Jets, both had Wednesday off from offseason workouts. The Giants had been planning to practice inside Thursday, and the Jets said they are also likely to work out indoors Thursday.

Youth sports in the area were also affected, with parents quick to voice concern about their children’s safety outdoors.

In a statement Wednesday, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association said schools should understand that all schedules were subject to change.

“NJSIAA is closely monitoring air quality data across New Jersey and local/state health advisories. As start times for athletic events draw near, we will make decisions for each venue and sport based on currently available information,” the organization said.

It’s not the first time in recent years that wildfires forced changes to the MLB schedule. A two-game series in Seattle between the Mariners and Giants was moved to San Francisco in September 2020 because of poor air quality caused by West Coast wildfires.

About an hour after Wednesday night’s game at Yankee Stadium was postponed, two fans visiting on vacation from Vancouver, British Columbia, were still lingering outside the ballpark.

“It’s just circumstances. What do I say? It makes me disappointed because this is one of the highlights of the trip,” said Malcolm, who was in town with his daughter and didn’t want to give his last name.

“I have a heart condition. That’s the only reason I’m wearing two masks and whatever. And my personal thought is that, why wasn’t it canceled two days ago? Because we knew about all this two days ago. But having said that, I don’t want the players running around and putting out in this, too. It can’t be good for them.”