The Yankees seem to have avoided the worst with Gary Sanchez.
The catcher left Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Rays after taking a free-kick from the right hand exposed in the fourth inning, but the X-Rays were negative. The Yankees called him day by day with a contusion to his right index finger and middle fingers.
“I definitely feel better right now than when it happened,” Sanchez said after the game through an interpreter. “I have more movement in my fingers. … If I keep improving the way I am right now, I might be ready to play tomorrow. “
Kyle Higashioka, who replaced Sanchez in the fifth inning, will pair up again with Gerrit Cole on Sunday, but manager Aaron Boone said he hoped Sanchez would be part of the lineup again on the Tuesday following Monday’s game.
Sanchez had initially stayed in the game for the rest of the fourth inning and came out on the center field at the bottom, but came out after feeling more inflated after the bat.