Voit thought 'broken jaw' when hit by Bettis pitch

NEW YORK -- When he was first hit by a pitch from Colorado's Chad Bettis, Yankees slugger Luke Voitsaid he was scared. He remembered when Giancarlo Stanton's jaw was broken by a pitch from Milwaukee's Mike Fiers five years ago.

"I thought broken jaw. My teeth were going to be all scattered everywhere," Voit said Sunday. "I grabbed my face. So I was like, 'Uh-oh.' ... But then, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Just a scary thing."

Voit was back in the New York Yankees' lineup at first base for Sunday's 8-4 loss in their series finale against Colorado. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Voit said his jaw was "super sore" when he awoke, but after icing it, there was only a little swelling. He said it felt as if he had been punched, and there was a slight cut on his chin. Concussion tests were negative.

Part of the force of the 91 mph pitch was absorbed when the ball grazed Voit's shoulder before hitting his chin. He also was able to turn his face slightly to avoid direct contact.

"I dodged a bullet, got lucky," said Voit, who planned to try a protective chin strap on his helmet before the game.

Left fielder Brett Gardner was scratched from the lineup because of a knee that was "barking," according to manager Aaron Boone, and he was replaced by Mike Tauchman. Boone said he expects Gardner will be available for Monday night's road trip opener at Minnesota.

Stanton, limited to nine games this season, is not close to returning from his latest injury. He strained his left biceps on March 31 in his third game, strained a shoulder and calf during his rehabilitation and returned June 18. In his sixth game back, he strained the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during an awkward headfirst slide into third base against Toronto on June 25.

"Better, but still slow. Not baseball activities yet," Boone said. "He feels like he is making some progress, where I think the first couple of weeks was a little frustrating in that it was slow moving."

Stanton is hitting .290 with one home run and seven RBIs, and he has been pretty much a nonfactor in the Yankees' season.

Outfielder Cameron Maybin, sidelined since straining his left calf on June 21, is to start a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre on Tuesday.

Ace Luis Severino and setup man Dellin Betances, both sidelined since spring training by lat injuries, started throwing on flat ground Monday but are not yet ready to begin bullpen sessions, making returns before late August unlikely.

"I would say sometime in the early part of next month they should be on the mound if everything continues to go well," Boone said.