Aaron Judge throws gingerly in first outfield appearance since July 25, but insists arm is 100%

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge threw gingerly when he returned to right field Friday night for the first time since hurting his elbow in late July, yet the New York Yankees captain insisted his arm was 100%.

When Toronto's Nathan Lukes hit a shallow, bases-loaded single in the first inning that landed 218 feet from home plate, Judge grabbed the ball on one hop and made no attempt to throw home.

Daulton Varsho started the play on second base and was just rounding third when Judge threw to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., positioned at the back of the infield dirt, a toss measured at 67.9 mph by MLB Statcast. Varsho slid across the plate uncontested as Chisholm held the ball, and the Blue Jays took a 3-0 lead en route to a 7-1 victory.

“Get it in. Get it to the cutoff man. Let him do his thing," Judge explained.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone did not go into much detail when asked why Judge didn't throw home.

“He’s in position to make the throw,” Boone said. “We’re handling it how we handle it.”

Judge hadn't played the outfield since July 25, three days after he strained his flexor tendon while making a throw at Toronto.

“There was a little bit of unknown with how he was going to respond,” Blue Jays manager John Schenider said. “We want him to test it.”

Judge also caught a pair of flyouts with no runners on base and threw softly to Chisholm after Varsho hit an RBI double in the ninth on a ball that bounced to the wall. Judge allowed Bo Bichette’s fifth-inning popup to fall in front of him for a single as Chisholm peeled away.

“That’s just on me. I've got to take control there," Judge said. “Jazz does such a good job of going back on balls like that. I assumed, and you can’t assume in that situation. As the outfielder, you've got to take control.”

A two-time AL MVP and seven-time All-Star, the 33-year-old Judge is known for a strong and accurate arm. He made a 100.5 mph throw to catch the Los Angeles Angels' Kole Calhoun at the plate in May 2018.

Asked how close his arm was to 100%, Judge said: "I wouldn’t be out here if I wasn’t."

Judge went 1 for 3 with a walk and leads with major leagues with a .322 batting average and 1.103 OPS, hitting 43 homers with 97 RBIs. Since missing 10 games while on the injured list, Judge had been exclusively a designated hitter. He is batting .245 with six homers and 12 RBIs in 27 games since returning to the lineup on Aug. 5.

“A little bit like a pitcher, starting to go through plyometrics and things like that building up to get to the point to where he could start to throw a little bit,” Boone said before the game. “And then just gradually building from there, starting to throw to bases, getting our infielders involved, just so we could be a little creative with some things.”

Bichette put the Blue Jays ahead with a broken-bat RBI double down the left-field line off rookie Cam Schlittler, who was chased after 60 pitches and 1 2/3 innings. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered to back an eight-inning, four-hit outing by Kevin Gausman, who won for the first time in a month.

When he trotted to right for pregame warmups with a bullpen catcher, Judge was trailed by two camera people. The crowd gave him a loud ovation when the lineups were read, and the Bleacher Creatures chanted his name repeatedly during Roll Call.

“They definitely knew what was going on, and they let it be known,” Judge said.

Boone said Judge initially won't be in right field every day, likely alternating with Giancarlo Stanton in a move that figures to further diminish playing time for rookie Jasson Domínguez.

“He’s good enough to be in there, and hopefully it will continue to improve,” Boone said after the game.

Judge first felt pain in the sixth inning of a July 22 game at Toronto, when George Springer singled to right and Judge made a strong throw home in an attempt to prevent the tying run.

Judge was a DH the next day and following an off day returned to right on July 25 for a series opener against Philadelphia. He had trouble throwing, went for an MRI on July 26 and was put on the IL.

In order to get both Judge and Stanton in the lineup together, Stanton has played 17 games in corner outfield spots since Aug. 9, his first outfield appearances since September 2023. Stanton is hitting .287 with 19 homers and 48 RBIs since starting his season on June 16. Stanton missed the first 70 games because of inflammation in the tendons of both elbows.

“Big G putting himself in the mix now is obviously a big deal, so probably some kind of a shared situation, but, again, we’ll see how Aaron responds day in and day out coming out of these games,” Boone said.

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New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, right and Jazz Chisholm Jr. watch a single hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Bo Bichette fall between them during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge watches as fans try to catch a home run ball hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge takes the field during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge throws in a ball hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge fields a ball hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees'' Aaron Judge attends practice before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

NEW YORK (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka moved a win away from her third straight U.S. Open title, beating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 on Thursday night.

Sabalenka blasted her way out of what was a dead-even match for most of the first set, pouncing on Pegula's second serves and turning the second set into perhaps her most impressive stretch of tennis in the tournament.

“No complaints,” Sabalenka said. “I’m just super happy that I was able to pull out such tennis.”

The No. 1 seed will face No. 2 Elena Rybakina or No. 4 Coco Gauff on Saturday, needing a victory to become the first player to win three in a row in Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams from 2012-14.

Rybakina will replace Sabalenka atop the women’s tennis rankings next week, and Sabalenka said this week she would be fine ceding No. 1 after she held it 99 consecutive weeks if it she was able to win another U.S. Open trophy.

It will be hard to prevent that if she hits the ball Saturday the way she did against Pegula.

Sabalenka pounded 29 winners to Pegula's 12, turning their third straight meeting at the end of the U.S. Open into a rout, after her victory in the 2024 final and 2025 semifinals were tight most of the way.

“I was so desperate for the win, I wanted it badly,” Sabalenka said.

She has won 19 straight matches at the U.S. Open since losing to Gauff in the 2023 final.

The top four seeds made it to the women’s semifinals at the U.S. Open for the first time since 1975. Sabalenka, Rybakina and Gauff have all won multiple major titles, while Pegula is still looking for her first.

The native of Buffalo, New York, hoped it would come at her favorite Grand Slam tournament on her strongest surface, but unfortunately for her the hard courts are also where Sabalenka’s power is more relentless.

She won 14 of 19 points on Pegula’s second serve, smashing balls back more quickly than they were coming at her.

Still, Pegula hung with her for a while.

It was already 4-all in 25 minutes and Sabalenka appeared to be getting frustrated with not getting anywhere on Pegula’s serve, waving at her coaches' box in disgust after one miss. Pegula had won 18 of 20 points on her first serve when she stepped to the line serving with Sabalenka leading 6-5.

Then Sabalenka suddenly hit a backhand winner, Pegula sent a forehand long and Sabalenka hit another winner to set up a set point, and finished off the set a couple points later.

Sabalenka put Pegula in huge trouble in her second service game of the second set, eventually pouncing on a 77 mph second serve and hammering a forehand back at 90 mph then Pegula had no chance of getting back for a 3-1 lead.

Sabalenka said this week she loved playing against Pegula, who had the most wins and shared the most hard-court wins on tour this season, because it was an opponent who could put her under pressure and force her to respond when challenged.

When she did, the No. 3 seed couldn't keep up.

Pegula finally showed frustration when Sabalenka hit a powerful low passing shot that Pegula could only volley back into the net, throwing her racket to the court.

See AP’s full tennis coverage here

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, reacts during a match against Jessica Pegula, of the United States, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Jessica Pegula, of the United States, returns the ball to Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, reacts after she won the first set during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Jessica Pegula, of the United States, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, follows through on a shot to Jessica Pegula, of the United States, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)