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Around the Empire
Newsday | David Lennon: All rise. Aaron Judge is making his presence known in the Bronx and the majors in general. The balls that come off of his bat are extremely hard hit. The RBI single he hit yesterday was the hardest hit ball this season. Later on he hit another baseball into Monument Park. That was his third home run in three days. It is encouraging to see him having such a great start to his rookie season. You may be seated.
New York Post | Zach Braziller: Jordan Montgomery made his debut as the Yankees’ fifth starter in yesterday’s game against the Rays. There were some mistakes here and there, but overall his performance showed why he won the job in the first place. Montgomery was admittedly a bit nervous making his first start. Joe Girardi and the Yankees’ front office still think very highly of the young man. Only walking two and striking out seven will do that.
New York Daily News | Jon Healy: It was not all sunshine and pinstripes yesterday. Brett Gardner is day-to-day after a pretty ugly collision with Ricky Weeks Jr. while running down the first base line. Gardner suffered a bruised jaw and strained neck from the collision. Hopefully he’ll be back in the lineup sooner rather than later.
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: In further depressing news, it looks like James Kaprielian, the Yankees top pitching prospect, might need surgery. The injury is a recurrence of the same one he suffered that kept him off the mound for the majority of last year. Currently Kaprielian is weighing his options as to whether or not to get the surgery. Just a tough break for the young pitcher.
ESPN.com | Andrew Marchand: Finally, a look at Jean Afterman, the Yankees’ assistant GM. Do you remember that scene in Seinfeld in which George Constanza tells George Steinbrenner off and the Boss’ response was to hire him? Jean Afterman pretty much did that and a few years later was hired to be the assistant GM, a position she has held for over a decade and a half. You should give this a read.