BALTIMORE — The New York Yankees will return home Friday, Aug. 21 after a six-game road trip and will be greeted by a very welcome sight: Aaron Judge doing more baseball things and, perhaps the return of Cody Bellinger.

Judge hit off a tee for a second consecutive game and reported no complications, manager Aaron Boone said Thursday before the Yankees’ series finale against Baltimore at Camden Yards. Judge, the reigning AL MVP, has missed the last 68 games with a rib fracture, and has undergone a very deliberate progression toward a return.

“He did more tee today and sounds like it went well. Be good to see him tomorrow,” says Boone.

The Yankees have gone 35-32 without Judge and are 71-55 overall, padding their hold on the No. 1 wild card by winning the first two games against the Orioles. Yet it has been a struggle offensively without their two former MVP outfielders, putting stress on the pitching staff and making it challenging to chase down first place Tampa Bay, which leads the AL East by five games.

One of them is on the verge of return.

Bellinger was slated to begin a rehab assignment at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, weather permitting. Boone says he believes Bellinger will require more than one rehab game, yet also believes there’s a strong chance he’ll be back at some point during their three-game weekend series against Toronto at Yankee Stadium.