Yankees comeback win overshadowed by suspected Gary Sanchez injury

We’ve got good news! Gary is doing OK.

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The New York Yankees took fans on a rollercoaster ride on Tuesday night. It all started when Aaron Boone dropped a bizarre lineup card.

Brett Gardner batting second. Miguel Andújar in left field. Ryan LaMarre in right field. Mike Ford at first base. What are we doing?

After going down 3-0 in the bottom of the third when the Rangers took advantage of a lackluster performance from Jameson Taillon and rallied with two outs, we’ll admit we didn’t think there was much to look forward to.

But then came a string of hits in the top of the fourth! You better believe it. Not a single homer and the Yankees managed to plate five runs. When’s the last time we saw that?!

The Bombers put up another run in the top of the sixth and continued to remain out of a reach. It ended with a 7-4 victory, but it felt a lot more momentous than that. They overcame the odds with a bad lineup and a mediocre outing from their starter.

Unfortunately, the high was short-lived, because now we have another injury concern on our hands. This time, it’s Gary Sanchez, who was actually starting to show signs of life as he platooned with Kyle Higashioka.

Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez is dealing with hamstring cramps.

During that fourth-inning rally, Sanchez scored from second base on an Andújar single. The slugger absolutely trucked it around the bases and beat the throw home. It was impressive. However, he left the game in the bottom of the sixth and was replaced by Higashioka, which had fans on high alert.

Though the Yankees announced the issue was merely hamstring cramps, nobody will believe anything until there’s a lineup released on Wednesday or Sanchez undergoes tests to confirm it’s nothing beyond that.

Giancarlo Stanton is already down. Aaron Hicks is in danger of missing significant time. Gleyber Torres dealt with a COVID scare. Zack Britton avoided what many figured would be a serious setback. The Yankees can’t afford to lose one of their catchers at the moment.

Say what you want about Sanchez in regards to his struggles to make contact, but his walk percentage (14.4%) is in the top 9% of the league. He’s OBPing .325, which doesn’t sound great, but that’s nearly 140 points higher than his batting average. If he can start making some consistent contact, he’ll be an on-base machine.

It’s frustrating that (in recent years) it feels like Sanchez is a work in progress despite the fact he burst onto the scene in his first few MLB seasons. But at this point that’s the reality, and it’d be even worse to see him set back further due to an injury.

Yankees: Can Gary Sanchez make comeback while platooning?

A careful reading of the data might give Aaron Boone a way to maximize his two catchers' talents, and restore the Sanchino to Yankees greatness.