Anthony Rizzo Hopes He Won't Miss Any Games After Hit By Pitch to Elbow

Rizzo was visibly in pain after taking a pitch off his right elbow in Monday night's win over the A's, later coming out of the game.

NEW YORK — Anthony Rizzo stumbled out of the box, his right arm limp at his side as he grimaced in pain.

The Yankees first baseman had been drilled by a 95.5 mph sinker from Athletics left-hander A.J. Puk in the seventh inning.

At first, the slugger stayed in the game. He came around to score a few batters later on Josh Donaldson's go-ahead double down the left-field line. When Matt Carpenter hit for Rizzo in the eighth, however, it was clear he wasn't feeling 100 percent.

"The whole arm just went dead there for a second," Rizzo said after the game, a 9-5 win for New York. "I would have been fine to hit but just being smart, getting on it right away definitely helped."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone added that Rizzo's arm started to stiffen up on him in the minutes after he was struck by the pitch. With a lead late in the game, he saw an opportunity to expedite Rizzo's treatment, putting some ice on it right away.

Asked if Rizzo will be available to play on Tuesday night, Rizzo said he "should be" good to go. Boone said he's hopeful he can pencil Rizzo in at first base, but it's too early to say for sure.

"He wasn't too concerned about it and he gets hit a lot, getting on the plate like he does. So he's used to that," Boone explained. "But this one got him pretty good so we'll see."

Rizzo has now been plunked 189 times in his 12-year career. 

Although it doesn't seem like this will be a legitimate concern going forward, losing Rizzo for any period of time would be a blow to this offense. His batting average may be relatively low (.222 in 261 at-bats), but he's doing his job in the middle of New York's order, flexing some serious power. The first baseman hit his 20th home run of the year on Monday night. He has 50 RBI with an .835 OPS.

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