Add The New York Post on Google MINNEAPOLIS — With a single pinch hitter, the outcome of Wednesday afternoon’s game suddenly felt a whole lot less relevant.
Because Aaron Judge was the hitter being replaced, coming off an off day, in his seventh game back from missing three-plus months with a stress fracture in his right rib.
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The Yankees lost the game 5-4 to the Twins in 13 innings, but whether they lost more than that remains to be seen after Judge exited the game early with what the team said was right lower leg tightness.
They added insult to injury when Victor Caratini hit a ground ball up the middle that bounced under George Lombard Jr.’s glove, allowing the winning run to score in the bottom of the 13th.
With 10 games left in the regular season, the Yankees can ill afford to lose Judge again.
They now trail the Rays by four games for the division, ahead of Tampa’s game on Wednesday night, but getting Judge back healthy in time for the playoffs outweighs whether or not they have to settle for the top AL wild card.
The Yankees had been fairly cautious in easing Judge back into action after his extended absence and not going on a rehab assignment before returning.
He had two days fully out of the lineup across his first six games, the most recent one coming on Tuesday after he had played four straight games.
But after Judge appeared to grimace on a check swing during his at-bat in the third inning, Heliot Ramos pinch hit for him in the sixth inning when his spot came up again.
Judge’s early exit came on a day when the Yankees nearly got shut out before Anthony Volpe drilled a two-out, two-run double off the wall in right-center field to tie the game 2-2 in the top of the ninth off former Yankee Yoendrys Gómez.
Ali Sánchez then gave the Yankees their first lead of the day in the top of the 10th, when the backup catcher lined a single up the middle to score the automatic runner.
But the Twins immediately tied it up in the bottom of the 10th against David Bednar, when Luke Keaschall led off with an RBI single. Austin Martin then reached on a bunt single after Bednar double clutched the throw to first.
Still, Bednar rebounded by striking out Ryan Jeffers and getting Josh Bell to ground into a double play to extend the game.
José Caballero put the Yankees back on top, 4-3, with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th. But it was matched in the bottom of the frame on one from Royce Lewis against Bednar that tied the game at four.
In the top of the 12th, the Yankees loaded the bases for Ramos, who hit a chopper to the pitcher for a 1-2-3 double play, before Sánchez struck out.
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But John Schreiber held the line in a two-pitch bottom of the frame, picking off the automatic runner at second base and then getting an inning-ending double play.
Carlos Rodón was solid, giving up two runs across six innings, marking the 25th consecutive start in which he has allowed three runs or fewer. The left-hander’s velocity was down across the board in his first three innings, including the first inning in which he spotted the Twins a 1-0 lead.
Rodón’s velocity started to tick back up by the fourth inning, though that did not do him much good in the fifth when his 94.2 mph fastball to Ryan Kreidler ended up in the left field seats to put the Twins up 2-0.
Clarke Schmidt relieved Rodón to start the seventh inning, making his first appearance after coming back from Tommy John surgery last July.
He gave up a pair of bloop singles and struck out two before Brent Headrick came on to strand both runners.
