Juan Soto back in Yankees lineup after missing 3 games and Aaron Judge given one night off since leaving

Soto was in the second spot and a slumping Anthony Rizzo was left out of the lineup for the second straight game.

Soto is hitting .318 with 17 home runs, 53 RBIs and a 1.027 OPS. The 25-year-old outfielder, acquired in December from San Diego, could become a free agent after the World Series.

A CT scan Friday revealed no problems with the elbow, the Yankees said.

“We just based it on how he was coming in every day, where the improvements are, how he's feeling, so hopefully that gets him in and gets him back in the outfield, hopefully in this series” ,” said manager Aaron Boone.

The manager said the nighttime arrival after a Sunday night game in the Bronx against the Dodgers factored into the decision not to start Soto in the outfield.

“I want to make sure he can go out and play again, with a full pitch and just kind of facilitate it,” Boone said.

Judge, the Yankees captain, is hitting .305 with a major league-leading 24 home runs, 59 RBIs and a league-leading 1.139 OPS.

“Obviously he plays out of this world,” Boone said, “but after playing every day, this time of year you get beat up a little bit too, so I think it's important to give him – especially to get I arrived at 3 a.m. – it was the kind of one I had noted.

Rizzo, in a 1-for-29 slide this month, is hitting .224 with seven homers and 25 RBIs. Boone said the two days off were intended to provide a mental break in addition to the time needed to work on hitting mechanics.

“Something I kind of wanted to get into yesterday,” Boone said of the back-to-back nights off. “We’re going to do a circle every night.”

Boone said Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole will make a third start Friday while rehabbing a minor league injury.

AP MLB: