Fresh Aaron Judge worry overshadows Yankees 13-inning walk-off loss to Twins

MINNEAPOLIS — With a single pinch hitter, the outcome of Wednesday afternoon’s game suddenly felt a whole lot less relevant.Because Aaron Judge was the hitter being replaced, coming off an off day, in his seventh game back from missing three-plus months with a stress fracture in his right rib.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.

The Yankees lost the game 5-4 to the Twins in 13 innings, but whether they lost more than that remains to be seen after Judge exited the game early with what the team said was right lower leg tightness.They added insult to injury when Victor Caratini hit a ground ball up the middle that bounced under George Lombard Jr.’s glove, allowing the winning run to score in the bottom of the 13th.With 10 games left in the regular season, the Yankees can ill afford to lose Judge again.They now trail the Rays by four games for the division, ahead of Tampa’s game on Wednesday night, but getting Judge back healthy in time for the playoffs outweighs whether or not they have to settle for the top AL wild card.The Yankees had been fairly cautious in easing Judge back into action after his extended absence and not going on a rehab assignment before returning.

He had two days fully out of the lineup across his first six games, the most recent one coming on Tuesday after he had played four straight games.But after Judge appeared to grimace on a check swing during his at-bat in the third inning, Heliot Ramos pinch hit for him in the sixth inning when his spot came up again.Judge’s early exit came on a day when the Yankees nearly got shut out before Anthony Volpe drilled a two-out, two-run double off the wall in right-center field to tie the game 2-2 in the top of the ninth off former Yankee Yoendrys Gómez.Ali Sánchez then gave the Yankees their first lead of the day in the top of the 10th, when the backup catcher lined a single up the middle to ...