More injury news for the Yankees. DH Edwin Encarnación exited the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader against the Tigers due to a strained left oblique, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports. Encarnación will return to New York for further testing, but oblique injuries usually require a stint on the 10-day injured list and they’re almost never for the minimum 10 days.
Encarnación was 1-for-2 with a walk and a two-run home run off of Matthew Boyd before exiting following a walk in the fifth inning. Encarnación recently returned after a month on the injured list between August 4 and September 2 due to a fractured right wrist. In 486 plate appearances this season, 197 of which have come with the Yankees, he’s hitting .244/.344/.531 with 34 home runs, 86 RBI, and 81 runs scored.
While Encarnación was absent last time, the Yankees used a rotating cast of characters in the DH role and that will figure to be the case for the remainder of the regular season. It remains to be seen if a defined role will develop in the postseason. After winning the first game of the doubleheader, the Yankees own a comfortable nine-game lead over the Rays for first place in the AL East with 15 games remaining.
