NEW YORK -- The scouting report was crystal clear as Jonathan Loáisiga examined the 6-foot-7 body of Aaron Judge on Sunday morning, digging in for his first at-bats in opposition to game-speed pitching since June 3. Absolutely, positively nothing inside.

Loáisiga and Judge earned optimistic critiques from their stay batting observe session at Yankee Stadium. Judge noticed 16 pitches, fouling off 5; although he didn’t put a ball in play in opposition to the righty, he additionally didn't seem to favor his injured proper large toe.

“He’s healing and trying to get back as soon as possible, and I’m a sinker pitcher, so I don’t want to make a mistake. Everything away,” Loáisiga stated by means of an interpreter. “When you take into consideration how long he hasn’t seen live pitching in an environment like that, I think he looked really good, honestly.”

Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone was amongst a larger-than-usual group on the sector to witness the stay BP, which occurred in a mostly-empty Yankee Stadium. Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt have been noticed within the house dugout, as was Royals pitcher Jose Cuas, who introduced his younger son, Jose III.

“It’s not going to get any harder than that, facing Jonny Lo as your first live session,” Boone stated. “To have Aaron get in there and have to take pitches where your swing [decisions] are saying no, that’s a good test that he’s got to go through in working his way back. It seemed like a good day all around.”    

Boone stated that the subsequent steps for Judge haven't been decided, however they are going to probably embrace extra hitting underneath simulated circumstances, making any exterior hypothesis in regards to the upcoming Subway Series in opposition to the Mets overly optimistic.

“One of the biggest things is going to be building up that little bit of endurance, doing it for a couple of hours at a time,” Boone stated. “That’s what we’ve got to get him to next.”

Earlier this week, Judge stated that he expects lingering discomfort as soon as he returns.  

“It’s not going to be pain-free, but we’ll just get as close to manageable as we can,” stated Judge, who might have surgical procedure to restore a torn ligament within the toe after the season.

No date for a possible Minor League rehab project has been set, Boone stated. Judge has been working the bases, throwing and hitting in batting observe. He additionally tracked pitches in opposition to teammate Nestor Cortes on July 17 at Angel Stadium.

“I faced him in Spring Training and before the playoffs last year,” Loáisiga stated. “It’s exciting to face him. He’s one of the best hitters in the world.”

Sunday’s session additionally represented progress for Loáisiga, who underwent arthroscopic surgical procedure to take away a bone spur and free our bodies from his pitching elbow on May 2. He blended his slider, changeup, sinker and four-seamer to Judge.

 “That’s really encouraging to see, stuff and command-wise,” Boone stated. “That looked like Lo in the playoffs.”

Loáisiga made three appearances in April, permitting a run and two hits in 3 1/3 innings (2.70 ERA). He expects to start a Minor League rehab project on Saturday.

“I’m looking forward to getting back and helping the team,” Loáisiga stated.

Content Source: www.mlb.com