


Harrison Bader will miss the Subway Series, but the Yankees could finally get him back in time for their next rivalry series.
After going through another full pregame workout Tuesday at Citi Field, Bader was expected to play a rehab game on Wednesday with Double-A Somerset before joining the Yankees on Friday and being in the lineup for their series opener against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
“That’s the hope,” manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday before the Yankees’ 7-6 win over the Mets. “We’ll see. He’s having another full day today. The idea is [if] he gets through that, he’ll play one game in Somerset and then hopefully be in play for Friday.”
Last week, Bader had expressed hope to avoid a rehab stint, saying, “I’m not helping anybody if I’m on a rehab assignment.” But the Yankees evidently thought otherwise.
Bader has been out since May 30 with a strained hamstring that he suffered while legging out an infield single against the Mariners. It marked his second trip to the injured list after straining his oblique in spring training and missing the first month of the regular season.
In between IL stints, Bader gave the Yankees a jolt by batting .267 with six home runs and a .806 OPS, in addition to providing strong defense in center field.
In his absence, the Yankees have used Greg Allen (who since joined him on the IL), Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Billy McKinney in center field.
Ten days after Aaron Judge slammed his right foot into a concrete ledge at Yankee Stadium and sprained his big toe, there remained little clarity on how long he might be out.
“I wish I knew,” Hal Steinbrenner said Tuesday at the MLB owners’ meetings.
“I’m not trying to be coy with you. … This is a rare injury for a baseball player with little to no sample size. On top of that, everyone heals at a different rate.”
Asked if Judge could be out through the All-Star break (July 10-13), Steinbrenner said, “I don’t know. That’s four weeks from now. I certainly hope not. Every day he feels slightly better, there’s been no regression. The good news is he feels slightly better every day, not worse.”
Catcher Ben Rortvedt landed on the 7-day IL at Triple-A on Tuesday after getting hit on the wrist by a pitch.
“It’s just a bone bruise,” Boone said. “Hopefully it’s just that week and he should be fine.”
Jake Bauers led off for the fourth time this season on Tuesday against Max Scherzer as Boone tried to space his left-handed bats throughout the lineup.
He went 1-for-3 with a key two-run single in the fourth inning.
“Bauers has done a pretty good job of controlling the zone as well as being productive for us,” he said.
Hero: Clay Holmes. In a back-and forth game, the Yankees’ closer entered with a one-run lead and the bases loaded in the eighth inning. Holmes struck out Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte to preserve the lead.
Zero: Drew Smith. The Mets likely will be without the righty — and his roster spot — for 10 games after Smith was ejected for failing a sticky-substance examination.
Unsung hero: DJ LeMahieu. The struggling infielder, who had gone 11 straight games without a homer, jump-started the Yankees’ big fourth inning with a two-run dinger off Max Scherzer.
Key stat: 5 Combined hits from Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, LeMahieu and Anthony Volpe. The quartet combined for five hits in their six-game homestand.
Quote of the day: “It was one of those fun ones. Obviously the buzz around Mets-Yankees, you could feel that in the building.”
— Mark Sanchez