BALTIMORE — Ryan McMahon exited Wednesday’s 5-3 win over the Orioles in the top of the eighth with a left-hand injury suffered sliding into second base in the top of the second.
The third baseman, who initially remained in the game, underwent X-rays that McMahon said didn’t show any damage, although there will be more testing Thursday.
“It’s a little sore,’’ McMahon said of his thumb, which got caught on the slide when he was thrown out trying to stretch an RBI single into a double.
As the game went on, McMahon said there was more swelling, so he let Aaron Boone know, and with the game tied in the top of the eighth, Boone opted to pinch hit José Caballero for McMahon with two on and two out.
Caballero ended up getting hit by a pitch to load the bases, and George Lombard Jr. followed with a go-ahead infield single.
McMahon said he hopes not to miss much time.
Despite their ongoing issues at the plate — the Yankees entered Wednesday with the second-worst OPS and second-fewest runs scored in the majors since losing Aaron Judge to a fractured rib — Boone strongly defended his hitting coaches.
“I think they’re great,’’ Boone said. “As a group headed by [hitting coach James Rowson], they’re very prepared. I think they work very hard. I think they’re providing the right things. Look, it’s been a struggle. I get it. I have a ton of confidence in our leadership there. We’ve just had a hard time getting results, but watching how they go about it, how they prepare, watching things said in meetings, watching what they’re giving players, [I have] a ton of confidence.”
Even so, Boone acknowledged he didn’t anticipate the prolonged funk the lineup has found itself in.
“It’s surprising,’’ Boone said. “We have some key pieces missing. With that creates challenges. We have a number of guys in a pretty good place, but they’ve probably all underperformed what I think they are individually. Hopefully that levels out moving forward because we do expect to be better.”
Perhaps the return of Cody Bellinger, who is scheduled to play in a minor league rehab game with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, will help.
But there is still no known timeline for Judge’s return.
“We’ve had a hard time for us, results-wise,’’ Boone said. “I don’t think it’s a result of who’s leading them.”
Boone said Max Fried had “another good day” Wednesday after being placed on the 15-day IL Monday with what was termed an elbow bone bruise but is actually inflammation near the elbow.
The Yankees traded catcher Christian Bethancourt to the Pirates for cash.
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He appeared in eight games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after signing a minor league deal with the Yankees last month following his release by the Cubs.
The 34-year-old Bethancourt was part of a catching group at SWB that includes another veteran, Mitch Garver, and J.C. Escarra.
Garver was signed to a minor league deal following his release by Seattle earlier this month after the Yankees were unable to trade for a catcher.
He entered Wednesday 2-for-8 in three games with SWB.
While Austin Wells has hit better of late — and continued to perform well defensively — Ali Sánchez has mostly struggled in a backup role.
Bethancourt last appeared in the majors with Chicago in 2024.
