Yankees' Gio Urshela Day-To-Day After Exiting Game Early With Back Injury
NEW YORK — Just when it looked like things couldn't get worse for the Yankees, their hottest hitter gets taken out of the game due to injury.
Third baseman Gio Urshela was subbed out of Wednesday night's game against the Braves with lower back tightness, the team announced.
After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone assured that Urshela's injury isn't serious and revealed that no further tests on his back are scheduled.
"It's going to be something that is day-to-day," Boone said. "I think it just locked up a little bit on him in the cold before his last at-bat. I think even probably, maybe could have continued [playing], but we'll see how he is after getting some treatment here."
Starting the eighth inning on defense, New York moved DJ LeMahieu over to third, bringing on Rougned Odor to fill in at second base.
Urshela grounded back to the pitcher for a double play in his previous at-bat a few innings before exiting the game, visibly in discomfort as he jogged to first base.
Urshela was moved into the cleanup spot in the Yankees' lineup on Wednesday for a reason. Not only was he coming off a two-hit game on Tuesday night—featuring a 437-foot home run—he's been one of the most consistent hitters in this struggling Yankees' lineup of late.
Exiting after going 1-for-3 on Wednesday, Urshela is now hitting .276 on the season. That's the second-best batting average of anyone on New York's active roster.
Entering play on Wednesday, Urshela was slashing 273/.310/.455 with two long balls, seven RBI and a team-leading four doubles.
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