Despite sweeping their doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, the Yankees suffered a couple tough losses.
Three, to be exact.
Edwin Encarnacion left the first game with a strained left oblique, while J.A. Happ left the same game with bicep tendinitis.
"It's something I've had in the past," Happ said. "I feel like I can manage it. I have been able to manage it."
The lefty has been having a solid season, as he's 12-8 with a 5.07 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 151.0 innings. So far in the month of September, he is 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 17.0 innings. Those are the type of performances that the Yankees will rely on him to deliver during the playoffs.
Manager Aaron Boone didn't seem too worried when asked about Encarnacion's injury after the first game of the day.
"He felt it in his first at-bat. Obviously homered in his scond at-bat, and my understanding was he was fine swinging," Boone said. "We hope it's minor and we got ahead of it but we won't know until we get him checked out."
Then, during the second game of the day, catcher Gary Sanchez left with left groin tightness. He attempted to steal second base in the top of third inning, but was thrown out. Sanchez caught the following half inning, but left the game in the fourth inning.
"Running toward the dugout I felt fine," Sanchez said. "Then I put on my equipment and once i squatted behind home plate, that's when I felt it tightening up. I thought it was the smart thing to say something to prevent it from getting worse."
Sanchez missed a large portion of last season with a right groin strain, and even missed time this season with a left groin strain.
"Obviously those are really key people we're talking about," Boone said. "I'm optimistic, frankly, on all three of them. We'll hope that the news we get back in New York and the treatment moving forward makes these things not long term."