Yankees star Aaron Judge withdrew from the game against Orioles early after being hit in the hand by a pitch

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge was pulled from their 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles early Tuesday night after handling a fastball at the plate.

Fortunately for the Yankees, Judge appears to have avoided a major injury.

Judge was batting in the third inning at Yankee Stadium when a fastball from Orioles starter Albert Suarez drilled him in the hand. Judge was clearly shocked by the moment, and he hopped around a bit, holding his fingers, before walking over to the first one.

Judge stayed in the game and took the field in the top of the fourth inning. At first it seemed like he was avoiding injury altogether.

But by the time Judge was scheduled to appear at the next plate in the bottom half of the inning, the Yankees pulled him from the game. Instead, Trent Grisham came in to make a pinch hit for him.

The replays of the hit don’t look great. It appeared that Judge was taking the ball directly to his left pinky finger at the bottom of the bat, and he really seemed to have a hard time squeezing his hand with trainers.

The judge underwent an initial test at a local hospital on Tuesday evening. He confirmed after the match that he had not broken his left hand and that all tests were negative. The move to take him out of the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, was simply done as a precaution.

Although tests came back negative, it is unclear how long Judge could be sidelined. He said he hoped he would be able to play on Wednesday.

The Yankees had a 3-0 lead over the Orioles when Judge was removed from the game. Judge entered Tuesday night with a .299 batting average with 26 home runs and 64 RBI in 73 games this season, his ninth in the league.

Judge’s injury is the second major injury in recent days for the Yankees. They lost first baseman Anthony Rizzo for at least two months after he broke his arm in an awkward collision in their loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

Despite losing Judge early, the Yankees held on for a two-run victory over the Orioles late Tuesday night. After building a 4-0 lead, WHO Santander hit a two-run homer for the Orioles in the ninth inning. That was as close as they got, though.

The Yankees now have a record of 51-24, which is good for first place in the AL East. The Orioles have lost three of their last five and are 2.5 games behind the Yankees in the standings.