Yankees try to balance keeping players healthy, having best hitters in lineup

BALTIMORE — The balance is tricky. The Yankees desperately need offense, but they also need healthy players to finish the season. So a day after he returned from the injured list, Gleyber Torres was not in the starting lineup for the Yankees 5-1 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards.

Even though Torres usually rakes here and against the Orioles, Aaron Boone stuck with the plan to keep him healthy.

“No temptation because we brought him back a day early with the mind that Sunday, the day game, would be his recovery day as he’s ramped back up from Scranton,” the Yankees manager said of Torres coming back from rehabbing at the alternate training site. “So it was either have him Sunday or have Saturday with the built in day off going into Toronto, so no temptation.

“It was really good to see him look as good as he did last night, see him moving around as well as he did,” Boone said. “I thought he had good at bats all night long, so excited to get him back, obviously, but today was important to have him down.”