Yankees slugger Aaron Judge took on-field batting practice Monday for the first time

The five-round session included home runs to all fields by the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year.“It went really well. Another big step for him to get out on the field Pat Valaika Jersey ,” said manager Aaron Boone, who called the performance “putting on a show.”Judge is second on the team with 26 home runs and has 61 RBIs while hitting .285 in 99 games. He’s also struck out 137 times in 372 at-bats.Judge took indoor batting practice the last two days in Seattle and said Sunday the wrist still hurts. He did not speak to media before Monday’s game in Minnesota.Assuming Judge feels good Tuesday, Boone said he anticipates Judge taking more swings, potentially during group batting practice.Boone cannot put a timetable on when Judge could be back in the lineup.“We’re not at that point to where we’re going to throw him in the games yet or something,” he said. “We just want to get through these next couple days where he starts ramping up the amount of swings out on the field and continues to build that momentum.” Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies will face the Washington Nationals for the final time of the 2018 season Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park.Nola, a Cy Young candidate Daniel Castro Jersey , is looking for his fourth win in five tries against the Phillies’ divisional foe this season. Stephen Strasburg (7-7, 4.04 ERA) will be on the mound for Washington.The scuffling Phillies are coming off one of their most disheartening days of the season. They were swept by the Nationals in a Tuesday doubleheader and blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning of the nightcap. Juan Soto hit a pair of homers in the Nationals’ 7-6 win.Article continues below ...The Phillies (74-70) are 2-8 in their last 10 games, 11-22 since Aug. 5 and are six games back of Atlanta.The Nationals — who are 73-73 and 7 1/2 games back of Atlanta — have already captured the season series against Philadelphia, winning 10 of the first 18 games.Nola (16-4, 2.29) has been great against nearly every team he’s faced this season. He’s been dominant against the Nationals.The 25-year-old righty is 3-0 with a 1.26 ERA, 0.907 WHIP and 9.4 K/9 rate in four starts against the Nationals. That includes a pair of August starts in which Nola out-pitched two-time reigning National League Cy Young winner Max Scherzer.Nola http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-bettis-jersey , who is 4-4 with a 3.38 ERA in 14 career starts against the Nationals, has posted a 4.97 ERA in his first two starts of September, but he has 19 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings this month. He held the New York Mets to three runs on three hits and struck out eight in seven innings last Saturday.Strasburg threw 5 2/3 innings against the Chicago Cubs in his last start. He gave up two earned runs on six hits and three walks while striking out six. It was Strasburg’s fourth start after spending a month on the disabled list with a pinched nerve in his neck.“It’s getting better,” Strasburg told MLB.com. “Velocity isn’t quite there just yet, but the life is there so I think that’s a positive. I just keep grinding, just keep working at it Kyle Freeland Jersey , and it seems like there are stretches when it feels better and there are stretches when it doesn’t feel as consistent, but I think anybody can say the same thing.”The righty has a 3.06 ERA over his last three starts. That stretch includes his last win, which came when he tossed six innings against the Phillies on Aug. 27.Strasburg has had a lot of success against the Phillies in his career. He’s 11-2 with a 2.50 ERA and 0.914 WHIP in 23 career starts against the franchise, and Strasburg has a 1.62 career ERA in nine appearances at Citizens Bank Park.Phillies first baseman Justin Bour has hit Strasburg better than anyone in the Phillies lineup. Bour is 8-for-24 with two homers, seven RBIs and a 1.054 OPS lifetime off Strasburg.