Yanks’ Judge returns from stiff neck with a bang

NEW YORK — New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is returning to intrasquad action on Wednesday after missing three consecutive games because of a stiff neck.

The 2017 Rookie of the Year did some light field activity Monday and Tuesday, taking part in batting practice and shagging fly balls in the outfield. He will be playing right field and hitting second Wednesday — his first appearance in the lineup since Saturday, when he told the Yankees that he woke up with a sore neck.

“[The players] are out there stretching now and going through the pregame routine, so just want to make sure he gets through that fine and then hopefully he’ll be good to go tonight,” manager Aaron Boone said.

Judge, who used the coronavirus hiatus to rehab a fractured first right rib and subsequent punctured lung, had been swinging at full strength before summer camp resumed at Yankee Stadium, taking part in full practices and intrasquad action before his latest ailment.

Boone also announced that James Paxton, the scheduled starter for the “Yankees” in Wednesday’s intrasquad scrimmage against the “Bombers,” would start the second game of the regular season against the Nationals on July 25.

As anticipated, Boone confirmed ace Gerrit Cole would start for the Yankees when they open the abbreviated 2020 season against the Nationals on July 23.

Paxton, who was 15-6 with a 3.82 ERA for the Yankees in 2019, is back to full health after undergoing a microscopic lumbar discectomy in February to repair a herniated disk and remove a peridiscal cyst.

“Since having his surgery, just the whole process has really gone well, from his rehab to even before we left in Spring Training 1.0. [Paxton] was already starting to play catch, and felt like he was in a really good spot, before he headed home,” Boone said. “He was able to get a lot of quality work in while he was in Wisconsin and has come in here ready to go.”

Boone added that Japanese starter Masahiro Tanaka, who has been on the concussion protocol since being hit on the right side of the head by a Giancarlo Stanton 112 mph line drive last Saturday, would be back on the mound Thursday, throwing a bullpen session.