Brett Gardner’s walk-off homer did not come without a price — for Aaron Judge.
Judge chipped one of his front teeth after being hit by Gardner’s helmet during the celebration near home plate following the Yankees’ 6-5, 11-inning win over the Rays on Thursday.
Gardner led off the bottom of the 11th with a home run and was mobbed by his teammates, including Judge, as he crossed the plate.
Judge could be seen being hit by Gardner’s helmet and immediately reached for his mouth and jogged off the field to seek medical attention.
“It wasn’t my fault,” Gardner said following the victory. “I threw [the helmet] on the ground.”
No one, it seemed, was willing to take responsibility for how Gardner’s helmet ended up smashing Judge in the face.
Judge was unavailable for comment following the game, but the Yankees announced he was OK and would be able to play Friday.
“He’s too big to get hurt by something like that,” Gardner said. “I think he’ll be all right.”
Long after the game ended, team personnel could be seen on the field, presumably in search of the chipped tooth.
Several teammates looked at the video on their phone to figure out the culprit, with Clint Frazier a possible suspect, since he was right next to Judge and Gardner’s wayward helmet, but he insisted it wasn’t him.
“We don’t know who hit him,” Frazier said of the already gap-toothed Judge. “We’re trying to find somebody. But the tooth broke in half.”
It has been a rough two weeks for Judge since the All-Star Game.
After announcing his arrival on the national stage with a fantastic showing in winning the Home Run Derby, Judge has struggled — at least by his standards.
He went 1-for-5 on Thursday with a strikeout and is 8-for-46 with two homers and 19 strikeouts since the All-Star break.
With a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth Thursday, he popped out to right with Gardner at third for the second out.
Gary Sanchez followed with a single to score Gardner and send the game into extra innings.