"I want to be there tomorrow" - Aaron Judge determined to return after injury, avoids fractured arm following negative scan report

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge took a fastball on his hand on Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles. The incident happened in the third inning when a 94-mph four-seamer from Orioles starter Albert Suarez struck him on his fingers, more particularly his pinky finger, following which the Yankees captain looked visibly rattled.

Surprisingly, Aaron Judge took the outfield in the fourth but was subsequently replaced by Trent Grisham for his next at-bat.

After the game, Judge was taken to a local hospital for scans, which came back negative, meaning he avoided a fracture to his left hand. It came as a sigh of relief for the Yankees captain, who told reporters:

"It's a big relief. Just being hit there before a couple years ago and breaking the wrist, you never know what's going to happen. Finding out that it's not fractured, not broken, is definitely a sign of relief. ... I told Boone I wanna be in there tomorrow, so we'll see."

This is the second big injury news coming for the Yankees, who placed Anthony Rizzo on the injured list following his left arm injury on Sunday. As far as the game is concerned, the Yankees won the series opener 4-2.

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Aaron Boone revealed that taking Aaron Judge out of the game was a precautionary move

MLB: New York Yankees at Houston Astros

There was a level of uncertainty when Aaron Judge remained in the game and took the field in the fourth despite the HBP. However, he was replaced for his next plate appearance. Aaron Boone told the media that it was a precautionary move.

"No, it's just, I think they precautioned, you know, because he had strength and stuff, but I think we just wanted to make sure, get it looked at and see what we're dealing with," Boone told reporters.

Interestingly, it was not the only HBP on the night. During the fifth inning, Gleyber Torres was also stung on his hands by a pitch from Keegan Akin. That resulted in his teammate Alex Verdugo throwing expletives at Akin and other Orioles players.

"Just me and you... and after I'm done with you, I'm gonna f*** that guy up,” Verdugo said.

The Yankees are looking like the team to beat in the MLB this year, but injuries to key players could derail their season.