AARON JUDGE RETURNS WITH AN OUTSTANDING DINGER

After his recent absence from the Yankees' intrasquad lineups, Aaron Judge made a stellar comeback in the first inning of the team's scrimmage at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Judge started off the game with a home run bounced off pitcher James Paxton towards center field. 

"Still not 100 percent, but good enough to play," said Judge. "I was out there to get some at-bats and see how it felt. All good."

Judge missed the last three intrasquad contests to get treatment for a stiff neck. Nevertheless, Judge returned by hitting Paxton's second pitch into the netting above Monument Park. 

"Sometimes you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed; that's all I've really got for that," Judge said about his neck. "The trainers have been helping me out. It's just a stiff neck. My biggest thing is I couldn't really turn my neck all the way to see the pitcher, and that's not where you want to be. So now I can see the pitcher and we're ready to roll."

This wasn't the first injury Judge faced this season, as he missed all of spring training 1.0 due to a fractured rib initially diagnosed as a shoulder problem. He then returned for spring training 2.0, with Judge claiming to be ready only to be taken off from Saturday's intrasquad game due to his stiff neck.

But now, Judge looks ready for the opening game against the Nationals on July 23. "Right now, it's about getting ready for Opening Day," Judge added. "If I didn't play a single Spring Training game but I'm ready to play for Opening Day, I'm going to be excited about that. I'm not really too worried about it. You break a bone in your ribs from diving, trying to make a play for your pitcher, get hit in the wrist by a pitcher -- it's just freak things. I'm going to keep playing this game hard, and that's all I know."

--Anthony Orlando

BYB Contributor

Twitter: @landi52orlando