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Around the Empire: Yankees news - 5/5/19

Miguel Andujar makes his return; J.A. Happ keeps giving up dingers; Jonathan Loaisiga expected to replace James Paxton; Sunday afternoon’s start time pushed back.

MLB: Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: The Yankees lost yesterday’s game to the Twins, but they gained one of their most productive bats in Miguel Andujar. He went 1-for-4 while drawing a walk, but also made two errors at third base. “I felt better than expected,” he told reporters after the game. “Honestly, just happy to be back here.” While the Yankees must be thrilled to have his presence in the lineup, they may want to consider playing Gio Urshela at the hot corner. Andujar could serve as the designated hitter for the time being.

New York Daily News | Kristie Ackert: J.A. Happ had another rough outing yesterday. The southpaw allowed four runs in 5.2 innings pitched, giving up two home runs in the process. Happ faulted his location for the poor results. “The second one to Cron was a 1-0 two-seamer that I just missed the pitch before and brought it up a little bit,” he said after the game. As Josh noted in the Pinstripe Alley offices earlier, fly-ball pitchers like Happ get burned the most when there’s a juiced ball. Maybe Happ can find a way to limit the damage.

New York Post | Zach Braziller: With James Paxton on the 10-day injured list, the Yankees need someone to fill his spot in the rotation. All signs point to that role going to Jonathan Loaisiga. The right-hander has made two starts and a relief appearance with New York in 2019, pitching to a 2.70 ERA (4.22 FIP). His two starts for the RailRiders haven’t gone as well, as he sports a 7.20 ERA (5.69 FIP) with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Finally, here’s a reminder that this afternoon’s game has been pushed back to 4:05 PM due to a threat of inclement weather.