NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Aaorn Judge returned to the Yankees’ in-scale games on Wednesday and lost little time. The judge took James Paxton deep into center field early, and then Giancarlo Stanton hitched one in Paxton’s left field seats later. The Yankees have only seen those two home runs in the same game three times, but the team is 3-0 in those contests. The good news is that after some injury problems, both players are healthy and ready to strike baseball again.
New York Post | George A. King III: Unsurprisingly, most Yankees pitchers don’t like the new additional innings rule, which places a running back at second base to start every half inning. Adam Ottavino bristled when asked about it, calling it “not real baseball.” Chad Green and Jordan Montgomery also expressed dissatisfaction with the rule, and Montgomery called it “horrible.” If MLB players continue to publicly criticize the rule, it may not last beyond the season, as does the NFL’s short-term permission to challenge pass interference calls, which received similar disregard from players and trainers.
ESPN | Alden González: This story is worth watching if you love Gleyber Torres, and who doesn’t? González outlines Torres here and covers all bases; from its beginnings in Venezuela, to how the Cubs and Yankees discovered it, their desire to become a U.S. citizen, and more. Great takeaway food? Torres has a real shot at becoming the next MLB superstar, and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to get there.
NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Journalists noticed a strange sight on the field at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday afternoon: third baseman Gio Urshela taking balls on … second baseman? Although Aaron Boone played it down, saying the club was just trying things out and making sure they were as prepared as possible, an infield with Miguel Andujar at third base and Urshela at second could be intriguing, at least offensively. Urshela has played five minor league games and five major league games second, so he is not a complete neophyte there. Many things will likely have to go wrong for Urshela to finish second in a Yankees game, but weirder things have happened before.
