BALTIMORE — Aaron Judge, in the early days off the injured list, has said he is not 100 percent.
So maybe his 442-foot home run would have been a 500-footer with two strong big toes.
Judge, in his second game off the IL, blasted a two-run homer in the third inning of Saturday’s game at Camden Yards, giving the Yankees a lead and leading the Bombers to an eventual 8-3 win over the Orioles.
The Yankees captain, who went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, missed nearly eight weeks and did not go on a rehab assignment.
He rushed his way back with a ligament tear in his right big toe and has quickly erased any concerns about his immediate level of production.
Judge stepped into a four-seam fastball from Tyler Wells and crushed it to center field, driving in Kyle Higashioka and helping the Yankees come back from an early deficit.
Before the game, manager Aaron Boone said Judge, who was playing right field, likely would sit in Sunday’s series finale.
He wants to ensure the superstar is resting his foot enough and building up stamina, but Judge’s bat already is difficult to remove from the lineup.