Never mind a cup.
The best way to not get hit where Jazz Chisholm Jr. did Thursday night is by hitting the baseball like he did on Friday.
A night after Chisholm exited Thursday’s game mid-at-bat after fouling a ball off that bounced up into his groin area, he returned to the Yankees lineup on Friday and hit a changeup flush into the second deck in right field for a home run in a 5-0 win over the Reds.
“It felt great,” said Chisholm, who has hit six of his 11 home runs over his past 18 games. “Leaving the game [Friday] night, not being able to stay in there and help my teammates win the game, to come in and start off the game and put us in front early felt great.”
Chisholm was experiencing different feelings on Thursday, when he was writhing in agony after his foul bounced back up between his legs, describing his level of pain as “a million.”
“If you ever got hit in the testicles, you would know,” Chisholm said Friday afternoon.
Still, the second baseman said, “Hell no,” when asked if he would start wearing a cup after Thursday’s mishap.
“I’ve never had a reason to wear one,” he said. “Now I have a reason to wear one, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to wear one.
“It was mandatory in the minor leagues and I still never wore it. I’m just not a cup guy.”
Aaron Boone took a different approach during his playing career as a third baseman.
“In December going to hit soft-toss, I put a cup on,” the manager said.
“That’s the difference between this generation and my generation. I did nothing without a cup, baseball related.”
Chisholm indicated that his refusal to wear a cup had to do with his supreme confidence in his fielding ability.
“If you don’t trust your hands, I recommend you wear a cup,” he said.
Some of Chisholm’s teammates were seen laughing in the dugout as he was tended to by a trainer — before it became clear he would have to leave the game — but he said they did not give him much grief once they knew he was OK.
“They just were asking me how my [testicles] felt,” Chisholm said.
Friday night was another win for Matt Hyde, the Yankees’ Northeast Area scout who signed both Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice. Schlittler, a seventh-round pick out of Northeastern, struck out 13 across six scoreless innings while Rice, a 12th-round pick out of Dartmouth, hit a three-run shot, his 21st of the year.
“Yeah, but they come out of a hotbed of big league talent,” Boone deadpanned before laughing. “It’s remarkable, really, when you think about it, two Massachusetts kids.
“Obviously a great job by Matty Hyde and then all the people involved in helping them get here. They are obviously turning into two cornerstone pieces for us and, in their own way, dominating the league.”
Austin Wells (cervical headaches) played a third rehab game on Friday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, going 0-for-4 with a walk while playing the full game (eight innings) behind the plate. Boone was noncommittal on whether Wells would continue his rehab assignment through the weekend, though it would not be surprising if he just meets them in Detroit on Monday.
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Max Fried threw a second bullpen session on Friday as he continues his recovery from a left elbow bone bruise. It remains to be seen when he might be cleared to advance to facing hitters, but a return in early August looks possible. … Reliever Peter Strzelecki opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees and became a free agent.
