NEW YORK (AP) — Knocked out of the series opener against Boston by a Walker Buehler pitch, the Yankees' Anthony Volpe was ready to be back in the lineup.
“I expect to be in there tomorrow,” he said after Friday night's 9-6 victory over the Red Sox.
Volpe followed Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s three-run homer with his own two-run drive in a five-run first inning, then was hit on the left elbow by an 88.2 mph Buehler pitch in the second.
He came out of the game starting the fourth inning when the elbow swelled after he took off his brace and compression sleeve. Volpe had an X-ray at Yankee Stadium that was negative and went for a CT scan at New York-Presbyterian/ Columbia University Irving Medical Center that also didn't show any break.
“It’s painful and stiff,” he said. "Knowing that it’s structurally sound and you’ve got to just get the swelling out, definitely optimistic."
Volpe winced in pain but remained in the game after he was hit by the pitch, which forced in a run. The 24-year-old Gold Glove winner played the field in the third inning, then was replaced by Oswald Peraza at the start of the fourth.
“Once all that stuff came off and the adrenaline wore off, you realize kind of it got pretty big," Volpe said.
Volpe is batting .241 with eight homers and 37 RBIs.
“Hopefully nothing that keeps him out very long,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Volpe has played in 61 of 62 games, skipping May 4 game against Tampa Bay, a day after hiring his left shoulder on a dive trying to get to a grounder.
“It’s how I was brought up in the game, that you want to be available for the team. That’s the way to be the best teammate,” he said. “I feel like not just me but everyone puts in a lot of work every single day to be able to go out there and compete for your team.”
He appears to have twice avoided a serious injury this season.
“I feel like I've seen Joey or X-ray and tech way too much for anyone’s liking.” he said, a reference to Yankees major league physical therapist Joe Bello. “Everyone goes through different stuff and we just don’t like to talk about it, I guess.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
