Tanner Houck has facial fracture, but upset Kyle Higashioka happy that he's otherwise OK

BOSTON — Kyle Higashioka’s initial hope was that Tanner Houck got a glove on it. But when he got to first base, he knew that wasn’t the case.

“Definitely looked like it was pretty bad,” he said Saturday.

Higashioka scorched an 89.7-mph line drive off the Red Sox righthander's face in the fifth inning of the Yankees'  15-5 loss on Friday night, knocking him from the game.

The Red Sox announced late Saturday afternoon that Houck, who was taken to Mass General Hospital after the incident,  suffered “a facial fracture but is currently resting at home in stable condition.”

Higashioka, speaking in the visitor’s clubhouse Saturday before the Red Sox disclosed the latest news regarding Houck, said: “You never want to see that happen.”

Houck was able to leave the field under his own power. Higashioka, standing on first, pointed in his direction as the pitcher crossed the first-base line and Houck, holding a towel to his face, pointed back.  

“It seemed like he was doing all right as he was walking off the field, so that was at least good to see,” said Higashioka, who received a bit more information on Houck late Friday night from Red Sox utilityman Rob Refsnyder, a former teammate of his with the Yankees. “But it’s not something you want to see out there.”

Higashioka acknowledged “definitely” being a little shook up seeing what transpired.

“We all want to compete on the field. You want to knock him out of the game by getting hits and whatever; you don’t want to see him go down with an injury,” Higashioka said. “It’s not something I enjoy seeing. I’m glad it wasn’t as bad as it possibly could have been.”

Aaron Boone watched what he called the “scary” situation from the dugout.

“From my vantage point, knowing it wasn’t totally smoked so I was kind of watching Houck’s reaction and his body language made me nervous,” Boone said. “Probably when he saw the blood, it probably freaked him out a little bit, understandably so. Hoping and praying for the best for him.”

Higashioka said his thoughts were with Houck even before making it to first base.

“As I’m running down the line, I hoped he at least got something on it before it hit him,” he said. “It’s just not something that you want to see. Hope he’s still doing good and everything. From what I hear from the guys, he’s all right.”  

Double dip

The Yankees got an extra 24 hours to think about one of their worst performances of the season.

Saturday night’s game against the Red Sox was rained out and will be made up as part of a split doubleheader Sunday. The first game, scheduled for 1:35 p.m, is slated to be started by Clarke Schmidt. The second game, scheduled for 7:10 p.m. will be started by Luis Severino.
Sunday’s doubleheader will be the second of the season for the Yankees. They split with the White Sox on June 8 in a doubleheader necessitated by poor air quality on June 7 caused by the Canadian wildfires.

No laughing matter

Utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa was called upon to pitch an inning Friday night, coming on in the eighth with the outcome no longer in doubt. Kiner-Falefa, who threw a scoreless ninth inning against the Twins on April 13 in an 11-2 loss, allowed a run on doubles by Jarren Duran and Triston Casas but — setting the bar low, given that he’s a position player — actually pitched decently. He did not walk a batter in retiring three of the five hitters he faced.

“Just trying to do the job and get out of it,” Kiner-Falefa said Saturday. “It’s not really exciting for me, it’s not something I enjoy doing. For the most part, it’s not the situation I want to be in.”

That’s because if Kiner-Falefa is pitching, it quite likely means his team is getting blown out. And so there’s little joy or amusement in watching the opposition try to hit his low-to mid-70s fastball.

“I know, for the other team, it’s like a no-win situation for them,” Kiner-Falefa said. “So I’m just trying to go in and give them an opportunity to swing the bat and hopefully there’s good results for me. I’m just hoping it’s quick. I don’t want to go out there and walk everybody, I just want to go out there and get some swings and my defense makes some plays, hopefully. But it’s not exciting. This is a big series for us, and to be in the game [as a pitcher], it felt kind of embarrassing. It’s not a situation you want to be in, especially against a rival. Not a good feeling.”

Bader almost set

Boone said Harrison Bader (right hamstring strain) came through his  rehab game with Double-A Somerset on Friday night just fine.

“Texted me after [and said] he felt really good,” Boone said.

Bader was scheduled to play again Saturday night. If there are no setbacks, the centerfielder likely will rejoin the Yankees on Tuesday before they start a three-game series against the Mariners at the Stadium.