Aaron Judge held hitless in long-awaited return to New York Yankees lineup from rib fracture

Aaron Judge made his long‑awaited return to the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, but the comeback was anything but a home‑run. The right‑handed power hitter, who had been sidelined since May 31 with a right‑rib stress fracture, appeared in right field and batted third, only to go 0‑for‑3 at the plate. He struck out swinging in his first at‑bat, fanned looking in his third, and was pulled by manager Aaron Boone after six defensive innings.

The game, played at Yankee Stadium, ended in a 5‑3 victory for New York over the Colorado Rockies. Judge’s brief stint on the field was eclipsed by a dramatic rally in the bottom of the eighth inning. Heliot Ramos, who took Judge’s place in the lineup, hit a towering three‑run home run with two runners on, breaking open the tight contest and securing the win.

Judge had missed 83 games—a stretch during which the Yankees posted a dismal .227 team batting average. Fans, eager for a return to form and a playoff push, had treated his activation like the second coming of Babe Ruth, hoping his presence would instantly fix the team’s fortunes. The manager’s decision to treat the series as a “quasi‑rehab” stint was meant to keep Judge’s workload controlled as the Yankees chase the Tampa Bay Rays in the tight AL East race.

Despite the team’s victory, Judge’s performance on his first day back raised questions. “It’s a tough way to come back,” Boone said after the game, acknowledging the limited playing time Judge received. Judge, meanwhile, expressed a desire to jump back into big‑league action “straight away,” a sentiment that led the Yankees to reinstate him early in the series.

The Rockies’ defense also played a role in the game’s outcome. After Judge’s exit, the Yankees’ right‑field coverage was solid enough to allow the team to stay in the game, but it was Ramos’s late‑inning power that finally broke the deadlock.

The Yankees’ offensive woes, exacerbated by Judge’s injury, have left the team scrambling to find consistency. The 5‑3 win will be a small bright spot in a season that has been marked by slumps and injuries. With Judge now back in pinstripes, the question remains whether his game will resume at the level fans hoped for or whether his return will continue to feel like a long‑term rehab.

For now, the team and its supporters will be looking to the next games to see if Judge’s presence can truly be a game‑changer, or if the Yankees will need to find other sources of power to finish the season strong.