Familiarly frightening Aaron Judge injury scare can't force him from Yankees-Mariners

Nobody defends his territory like New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge. Sometimes, though, we wish he wouldn't.

With an 8-2 lead in the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners on Monday, Judge - who raised his average up to a ridiculous .414 as the offense surged around him in this one - dove for a looper in right in an attempt to prevent a third Ms run from scoring. He came up short, and skidded on the turf.

Judge has become smarter about managing his headlong dives in recent years, especially in the wake of the mysterious collapsed lung/rib issue that festered between the 2019 and 2020 seasons after an unreported late-September leap. Sometimes, though, he simply can't help himself; putting a run on the board eats at him.

He leapt up after getting wrenched on the grass, but gave a few trademark Judge Grimaces, wincing a bit and flexing his knee. Needless to say, even with a five-run cushion, he came back to the plate in the top of the eighth inning, taking a one-out walk in an attempt to extend a budding Yankees rally.

Aaron Judge remains in Yankees vs. Mariners game despite wincing, knee pain after dive

Needless to say, a Judge injury in the middle of the pursuit of history would be a tremendous downer for a team that's sprinting forward offensively, at the moment. The Captain has been adept at pulling up on uncatchable fly balls towards the short walls in right in recent years - especially after his game-saving catch bcame a season-altering toe injury in 2023. Sometimes (like that toe jam) the catch is too tempting to resist, though.

Stay tuned after the game for any additional updates, but expect Judge to treat the postgame media availability the same way he treated the immediate aftermath of the event itself. He probably could use a maintenance day at some point on this roadtrip, but who knows if he'll take one. Maybe this could be an opportunity for the Yankees to utilize the Double Off Day to their benefit and give Judge Wednesday afternoon on the bench.