ST. LOUIS — In case there were any concerns with how Paul Goldschmidt’s sprained knee would affect his hitting, he answered them with each passing hit Sunday afternoon.
Making his first start since injuring his right knee last Tuesday, Goldschmidt put together a three-hit game with a pair of doubles to help send the Yankees to an 8-4 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
“Obviously for us to get the win, for me to get a couple hits, it was good,” Goldschmidt said. “I tried not to, but definitely it was a little bit in the back of my mind. But you just go play. I knew there was no extra added risk to playing. So just go play and try to play well.”
Goldschmidt had entered Friday’s game as a defensive replacement at first base, which manager Aaron Boone later said he was even a little reluctant to do — after the Yankees initially feared this was something that was going to land the 37-year-old on the injured list.
But by Sunday, he was cleared to return to the lineup and made his impact felt.
“I really wasn’t worried about the knee,” he said. “But there’s this weird subconscious when you had hurt something or your body maybe wants to test it out a little bit. I’d hit fine, I’d done defense, but to get out there and play nine, it was good. I wouldn’t have told Booney and them I was ready if I thought I was going to jeopardize our team or even myself.”
Goldschmidt, the ex-Cardinal who received a standing ovation before his first at-bat in his first start back at Busch Stadium, doubled in the fourth inning to key a three-run rally and later added another double in the ninth that drove in an insurance run.
“That’s classic Goldie right there,” Boone said. “He flashed it today.”
After starting 46 straight games, Anthony Volpe got a breather Sunday as José Caballero stepped in at shortstop.
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Volpe eventually entered the game in the ninth inning as a pinch runner for Giancarlo Stanton, scored a run and then played shortstop in the bottom of the frame.
Volpe, who has typically responded well to the rare days off he has gotten in his career, was stuck in a 7-for-47 (.149) skid over his past 13 games before Sunday.
Jonathan Loáisiga (mid-back tightness) began a rehab assignment Sunday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, throwing 16 pitches in a scoreless inning. … Fernando Cruz (oblique strain) made his second rehab appearance in that game, giving up two runs in an inning while throwing 20 pitches. … Amed Rosario (SC joint sprain) got pregame defensive work Sunday and is expected to be activated off the injured list Tuesday, when first eligible.
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Director of catching Tanner Swanson was ejected in the fourth inning by third base umpire Vic Carapazza.
Multiple Yankees were barking about a called third strike to Trent Grisham, and eventually Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas stepped off the mound and pointed while walking toward the Yankees dugout, at which point Carapazza tossed Swanson.
