Zack Britton leaves Friday’s game with injury
Zack Britton was pitching for a chance to win a World Series championship. The 34 year old came back from a new form of Tommy John surgery, which inserts a sleeve to protect the ligament, in just 12 and a half months with the intention of pitching in the playoffs.
That may be in jeopardy now.
Britton, pitching in the sixth inning against the Orioles at Yankee Stadium, summoned the trainers after throwing a very wild pitch and exited the game in the middle of an at-bat.
It was just his third appearance since 2021 and he was struggling with command again. He hasn’t exactly been given an easy landing either. Friday night, the Yankees put him in with two on base. Britton walked Gunnar Henderson to load the bases and allowed a run to score on the wild pitch.
Before Friday night’s game against the Orioles, Yankee manager Aaron Boone explained they needed to see that Britton could be competitive in the playoffs.
“I mean, sharpness, with Brit, his first two outings. I feel like it’s been good. I know he feels really good, which is good. I do feel like the arm speeds there. And the stuff is there, now it’s just a matter of getting sharp and finding that next level of command and finding the timing of his release point and all that in being in these games,“ Boone said. “So yeah, they’re good opportunities here to kind of make those evaluations.”
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