Yankees takeaways: Jasson Domínguez, Luke Weaver injury concerns after win over Dodgers

New York Times

2 days ago

LOS ANGELES — There had to be an asterisk. Actually, make that two.
The New York Yankees couldn't just enjoy stopping the rival Los Angeles Dodgers from earning a three-game sweep over them with a convincing 7-3 win on Sunday night.
They had to leave Dodger Stadium and file into their private Delta charter for their six-hour flight home, not knowing what awaited left fielder Jasson Domínguez and closer Luke Weaver, who were injured during the game.
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First, Domínguez left the game in the sixth inning due to a left thumb bruise he suffered sliding headfirst while stealing second base in the fifth inning.
Then Weaver felt tightness in his hamstring while stretching after warming up just before he was set to enter in the ninth inning, manager Aaron Boone said.
Domínguez 'jammed his thumb' on his slide, reaching for the base with his exposed hand rather than his right hand, which was protected with a sliding mitt. Cody Bellinger took over for him.
'There's nothing to worry about,' Domínguez said.
Still, Boone said Domínguez would likely get tests during Monday's off day in New York City. Domínguez said he realized he had to leave the game when he had difficulty trying to grip his bat.
Would he consider wearing protective mitts on both hands when he runs the bases?
'Definitely now, yes,' he said.
Weaver 'felt something in the middle of his hammy' just before he was about to enter the game, the manager said, though he didn't specify which leg was injured. Boone said he had to 'make a switch on the fly' when he went to lefty Tim Hill, who worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning and pumped his fist after the final out.
'I'm hoping it's not too serious,' Boone said of Weaver's injury.
Losing either Domínguez or Weaver for any amount of time would be a blow to the Yankees, who are 36-22 with a 5 1/2-game lead in the American League East.
Bellinger would surely take over everyday reps in place of the switch-hitting Domínguez, who has had a strong overall season (.247 batting average, six home runs, 25 RBIs) but has especially been good hitting lefty (.854 OPS). He's been less productive righty (.573 OPS).
Bellinger went into Sunday hitting .315 with a .939 OPS over his previous 23 games before getting hit by a pitch and walking in the win.
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Replacing Weaver would be more difficult. Devin Williams has an 8.10 ERA in 12 save situations this year. The Yankees traded for him in the offseason, thinking he would be their closer but they had to give the job to Weaver, who has put up a 1.05 ERA in 24 appearances. The Yankees could also look to Jonathan Loáisiga and Mark Leiter Jr.
Boone didn't describe Weaver's pain outside of saying, 'It was enough to take him out.'
The Yankees spent the weekend downplaying facing the Dodgers in a rematch of last year's World Series. Yet, they seemed particularly relieved to have won Sunday.
A hip-hop playlist pulsed through the clubhouse speakers. There was a cooler in the back-right corner with two words written on it: 'Beer tub.' Several players helped themselves.
On Friday, the Yankees watched ace Max Fried stumble for the first time this season in an 8-5 loss. On Saturday, the Dodgers dominated rookie starter Will Warren en route to an 18-2 beatdown.
'This team has bounced back from whatever 'tough' losses we've had,' Boone said. 'We've had a handful of them in the first couple months of the year. Yesterday, I don't know if it was tough but it was noisy though, and I know a lot of people are making a lot of it.'
DJ LeMahieu, who had his first four-hit game since 2021, said, 'It was just good to get the win.'
'They're a great team and we feel pretty good about where we're at,' catcher Austin Wells said. '… The atmosphere was great. Besides yesterday, I felt like we played pretty good games.'
Crafty lefty Ryan Yarbrough's impressive run continued when he outpaced Dodgers star righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who lasted just 3 2/3 innings and gave up four earned runs.
Yarbrough's six-inning, one-run performance dropped his ERA to 2.08 in five starts since joining the rotation on May 3. He struck out a season-high five, including Shohei Ohtani to start the game. He also fanned the last two batters he faced.
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'He's fun to watch, man,' Boone said of Yarbrough. 'He's different than anything you face.'
Yarbrough's sweeper was especially impressive. The Dodgers whiffed seven times on 10 total swings against it.
'I think it was just part of the game plan,' he said of using his sweeper. 'It was part of something to speed them up, and then using it to slow them down. Keep them in between.'
Yarbrough said he hasn't changed much since joining the Yankees after he elected free agency from the Toronto Blue Jays at the end of spring training.
'It's been more about game planning and understanding how everything works and moves,' he said. 'Maybe little tweaks with pitches but nothing super crazy. Just really understanding how everything moves and really utilizing my whole arsenal.'
Rice, Rice, Baby 🍚 pic.twitter.com/WD85wRJVvy
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 1, 2025
The last time Yamamoto faced the Yankees, he gave up just one run in 6 1/3 innings in Game 2 of the World Series. This time? The Yankees tagged him with Ben Rice's two-run home run in the third inning and seven hits total. He also walked three batters and threw 96 pitches.
'We made him throw stuff in the zone,' Wells said. 'I'm not entirely too sure what the difference was today but we got him out of there with a high pitch count.'
'That's who they are when they're at their best,' Boone said. 'Similar to the Dodgers, they make you earn it. It's what the really good offenses do. They control the strike zone. I thought we did a really good job with that today.'
(Top photo of Jasson Domínguez stealing second base in the fifth inning. He later left the game with a thumb injury: Jonathan Hui / Imagn Images)