Wells and Grisham back in starting lineup for Yankees in series finale against Toronto
TORONTO (AP) — Austin Wells and Trent Grisham are back in the starting lineup for the New York Yankees in their series finale against Toronto on Thursday.
Grisham was set to lead off and play center field, while Wells was behind the plate catching right-hander Clarke Schmidt and batting eighth.
Wells and Grisham came off the bench in Wednesday's 11-9 loss. The setback was New York's third straight and the Yankees slipped into a tie for first place in the AL East with Toronto.
New York is 13-18 since May 28.
'We've gone through it a little bit here the last few weeks,' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. 'Obviously haven't played our best. We need to do better, but I'm confident we will.'
Wells hadn't started since Saturday, against the Athletics. Boone said Wells needed time to recover from an invasive test for a circulatory issue in his left index finger.
Grisham left Monday's game after his cleat caught the turf, leading to tightness in his left hamstring.
'He feels good about it, the training staff feels good about it,' Boone said. 'Is it 100 percent? Maybe not, but I feel good that he's good enough and sound enough to go.'
Grisham is batting .248 with 15 homers and 32 RBIs in 73 games. He hit a career-high 17 homers with San Diego in 2022.
'He's been so important to us on both sides of the ball, just his center field play, his at-bat quality all year,' Boone said. 'He has hit for power, he has got on base. He has been a really good two-way player, an All-Star-caliber player for us in the first half. Big to be able to avoid (the injured list).'
Boone said right-hander Luis Gil threw 35 pitches and did some fielding practice drills in a scheduled throwing session Thursday. The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year has not pitched for the Yankees this season because of a high-grade lat strain in his pitching shoulder.
Also Thursday, the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed infielder CJ Alexander on waivers. The Yankees designated Alexander for assignment on June 30.
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