Yankees: Happ-y days ahead for Bombers despite Judge injury

Losing Aaron Judge to a wrist injury hurt, and pumped the brakes on the excitement caused by last week’s trades. But, with a solid debut, Happ gave the Yankees and their fans a reason to smile.

When Aaron Judge got hit by a pitch on July 26, fans held their breath. Their fears were confirmed when the star slugger was diagnosed with a chip fracture in his wrist. With hitters, wrist injuries can wreck the rest of the season. (For evidence, look at the Dodgers’ Justin Turner and his struggles since coming back from a similar injury.)

In a lot of ways, Judge is the lifeblood of this team. He’s the face of the Yankees franchise right now, their young star and perhaps their most impactful bat. Losing him cast a pall over the excitement the Bombers had built with trades for J.A. Happ and Zach Britton. When Happ made his debut on July 29, the Yankees and their fans really needed a win.

Thankfully, Happ delivered. The newest Yankee trade acquisition shut down the Royals, who had stolen the first game of a doubleheader the night before. With the Red Sox cruising and maintaining their lead in the AL East, Happ needed to deliver a good start and he did.

Take a look at the former Blue Jay’s stats from his debut. Happ tossed six innings, gave up three hits and allowed one earned run. Out of 96 pitches, 63 were strikes. The Yankees really couldn’t have asked for a better outing from the thirty-five-year-old. 

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Moving forward Yankees fans can expect Happ to be a stabilizing force in the rotation and someone that will always keep his team in the game every time he takes the mound. He’s not an ace, but he’s a winner and he is really going to help this Yankee team from here on out.

Sunday was a good start but it’s not going to get any easier his next time out when he faces off against the Red Sox in Boston this weekend. That will be a huge test for Happ because his success against Boston is part of the reason the Yankees made the move to acquire him. Hopefully, he can step up on the big stage and give the Yankees another start similar to his excellent debut on Sunday.

Sure, it was just one start and yeah, it’s the Royals who Happ should have been able to easily shut them down. However, with Judge going down, the Yankees need all the good news they can get. A solid outing from Happ is unquestionably a welcome step forward.

The offense could still be a source of concern. Simply put, there’s no replacing Judge’s talent. But, as Happ showed Sunday, the sky is not falling just yet for these Bombers.