Judge back on IL with a calf strain; Yankees still roll past Arizona 9–2.

Aaron Judge returned to the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain, and the New York Yankees still beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9–2 on Friday night, 18 September, at Chase Field, ESPN, Associated Press (via CBS Sports / NBC Sports), and Reuters (Field Level Media) reported. New York said the roster move would post Saturday and could be backdated to Thursday. Manager Aaron Boone said he would not predict a postseason return. Ben Rice hit his 39th homer; Gerrit Cole (9-9) became the winningest No. 1 overall draft pick with career win 162, one past Mike Moore; George Lombard Jr. drove in three. The Yankees have already clinched a playoff berth and trail first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Boone, asked about a timeline and postseason availability, said: “I don’t know. I don’t have a timeline on him. He’s on the IL now. I’m not going to predict anything. He’s getting treated and we’ll see what transpires,” AP via NBC Sports reported. Judge was removed for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning Wednesday against Minnesota after tightness in his lower right leg; Boone said symptoms persisted and imaging showed the strain. Judge was 4-for-26 with 13 strikeouts and one extra-base hit in seven games since returning last week from a broken rib that had kept him out more than three months on the ESPN frame (NBC soft 4-for-23 on one pass). He is hitting .241 with 18 homers and 41 RBIs in 66 games this season. Cody Bellinger said the club would have to find a way; Boone echoed that New York has played much of the year without Judge and that expectations do not change.

Hours after the IL announcement, New York’s first five batters reached against Eduardo Rodriguez (15-7), and Lombard’s two-run single made it 5–0, AP/CBS said. Rodriguez needed a career-high 45 pitches to get three outs in the first; Paul Goldschmidt walked to open, Cody Bellinger singled, Heliot Ramos and Rice walked on 3-2 counts to force in a run, Amed Rosario singled home another, Ramos scored on a wild pitch, and Lombard capped the frame, Reuters reported. Corbin Carroll’s two-run homer cut it to 5–2 in the second. Rice’s solo shot in the third — his 39th — pushed it to 6–2. Lombard added a solo homer in the sixth and finished with three RBI. Cole gave up two runs on four hits in six innings with six strikeouts and no walks, retiring 13 of the final 15 after Carroll’s homer; he bounced back from a pair of starts in which he had surrendered seven homers. Selected first overall by Pittsburgh in 2011, Cole’s 162nd win passed Moore (Seattle, 1981) for most by a No. 1 overall pick. Rodriguez allowed seven runs on five hits and four walks in 5⅓ innings. Yankees (89–64) have won eight of 10 on the Reuters card.

Named actors locked to the wires: Judge (10-day IL, right calf; Sat post / Thu backdate possible); Boone (no postseason prediction); Rice (39th HR); Cole (9-9, win 162, six IP, two runs, six K); Lombard (two-run single, solo HR, three RBI); Rodriguez (15-7 L); Carroll (two-run HR); Goldschmidt; Bellinger; Ramos; Rosario. Soft recorded without choosing: possible return by the 27 September finale if the IL is backdated to Thursday — omitted from the body; the short states the IL posting, the possible Thursday backdate as a roster fact, and Boone’s uncertainty only. Soft: Yankees–Rays games-behind figures on ESPN (five entering Friday) and AP/CBS/Reuters (four after Friday) — omitted; body states trail first-place Tampa Bay and already clinched only.

The checkable record is Judge’s 10-day IL for a right calf strain (Saturday post, Thursday backdate possible), Boone’s refusal to predict a postseason return, Yankees 9–2 Diamondbacks at Chase Field, Rice’s 39th, Cole’s 162nd win past Mike Moore, Lombard’s three RBI, and New York already clinched while trailing Tampa Bay in the AL East.

What comes next is checkable: published Yankees IL transaction when it posts Saturday; Friday’s Yankees–Diamondbacks box on ESPN/Reuters; Saturday’s series continuation with Cam Schlittler listed for New York and Brandon Pfaadt for Arizona on the AP “up next” line; published AL East standings without reprinting a games-behind figure in this short.

Floor: Judge 10-day IL right calf (Sat post / Thu backdate possible); Boone no postseason predict; Yankees 9–2 D-backs; Rice 39th; Cole 9-9 win 162 (past Mike Moore); Lombard Jr. 3 RBI; already clinched; trail TB AL East (GB omitted).