NEW YORK – Over the past several days, one Yankees voice after another has offered versions of this thought: No one can replace Aaron Judge.
That may be true, but it could be fun to watch Spencer Jones try.
The Yankees once again stocked their lineup with a 6-foot-7 right fielder on Friday, and Jones made an immediate impact in his return, going 3-for-3 with his first Major League extra-base hit in a 5-3 loss to the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
“I was excited,” Jones said. “It’s the rivalry, a lot of fans in the stands. I felt pretty good. I’m here, so I’m just going to keep doing my thing.”
On a night when Ben Rice hit his 18th home run, overtaking Judge for sole possession of the team lead, Jones made the most of his late-night return to the bigs.
Promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Judge was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right first rib, Jones singled in the second inning, stroked a run-scoring double in the fourth and added a single in the sixth.
“I especially loved that first at-bat that he had,” Rice said. “He took some tough pitches, fouled some off and eventually got one that he was able to put hard in play up the middle. I’m really excited to have him back with us.”
Jones was 4-for-24 (.167) with 12 strikeouts in his first taste of the Majors last month. Though the impressive batting practice displays that drew attention throughout his first callup have yet to translate to game action, there’s no doubting Jones’ power. He had 13 homers in 43 games at Triple-A.
“I think the first time around, it’s a lot of new information – a lot of new sights, a lot of new things,” Jones said. “The last couple of weeks gave me some time to think about things and the way I wanted to play. Being able to internalize that and get the call back was good for me.”
Said manager Aaron Boone: “He didn’t get a lot of results in the first go-round, but all of us that watched him, I thought he was giving quality at-bats for the most part each day. The same was true tonight.”
All of Jones’ hits came off Boston veteran Sonny Gray, who held the Yankees to three runs over 6 1/3 innings. It was Gray’s first start against the Yankees since he said that he was glad to go to a team where “it’s easy to hate the Yankees.”
There were noticeable crowd jeers directed toward Gray, who struggled during a stint with the Bombers from 2017-18. Gray mostly held the Yankees in check, touched by Rice’s first-inning homer, Jones’ RBI double and Trent Grisham’s solo shot in the fifth.
“He’s always filling up the zone,” Rice said. “I know he’s tough on righties with that sinker-sweeper combo. He just mixes it up. That’s pitching.”
For the third time in four starts, Ryan Weathers had difficulty keeping the ball in the yard, serving up a pair of homers.
Andruw Monasterio launched a solo shot into the left-field bleachers in the fourth inning, and Willson Contreras drilled a two-run homer into the second deck in left field in the fifth.
“I’ve got to be better location-wise, and there’s no one to blame other than myself,” said Weathers, who was knocked for five runs over six innings. “I’ve got to be better with my four-seam fastball.”
That particular pitch has been an ongoing issue for Weathers. He has surrendered seven homers in his past four outings, serving up two to the Blue Jays on May 18 and three to the Athletics last Saturday.
“I can do it all day long in the bullpen,” Weathers said. “When a hitter gets in the box and there’s money on the table, I’ve got to do it in a game.”
The Yankees fell to 36-50 (.419) in games that Judge hasn’t started since the beginning of 2022. Over that span, they have a .592 winning percentage in games when Judge starts.
“Obviously, Judge is a big part of our team. It stinks,” Weathers said. “In hindsight, it could be a lot worse. The news isn’t great; it’s not completely horrible. It’s just kind of, ‘Meh.’ The rest of the team just has to step up and play well to win ballgames.”
For at least one night, Jones offered a glimpse of how the Yankees could try to navigate this summer stretch without Judge as their main attraction.
“I liked what he showed tonight,” Rice said. “He definitely belongs.”