NEW YORK — Aaron Boone slept on it and decided he wanted to push the struggling Aaron Judge out of the Yankees’ leadoff spot for Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
“Just kind of woke up on it,” Boone said before Saturday night’s game. “Like, ‘Let me do that just to not have all the focus on the first at-bat of the game. Settle in.’”
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Boone put Gleyber Torres at leadoff with Judge hitting second and lefty Anthony Rizzo at No. 3 with the best-of-five series tied at 1-1.
The Yankees are desperate to get Judge going. He’ll enter the game in a serious slump, hitless in eight at-bats with seven strikeouts.
Boone said Judge’s slow start “maybe a little bit” factored into tbe decision.
Boone added that the Yankees lack a prototypical leadoff hitter with DJ LeMahieu (toe) and Andrew Benintendi (hand) off the roster with injuries.
The manager said he liked Rizzo’s power bat protecting Judge, and that he didn’t want to bat Rizzo at leadoff with the lefty-hitting Oswaldo Cabrera hitting ninth and starting in left field. Rizzo-Cabrera back-to-back would have concentrated all the Yankees’ lefty bats in one spot in the lineup.
“You know you’re going to get into those righty lanes,” Boone said. “You’re just trying to create a little bit of wiggle room there and you know you have (Matt Carpenter) over there sitting at some point. You’re trying to create a little bit of strategic favor at some point when you don’t have the ideal balance in the lineup.”
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Rizzo is hitting .286 (2-for-7) with a home run and Torres is hitting .250 (2-for-8) through the first two games.
Judge is hitless in three career at-bats against Cleveland starting pitcher Triston McKenzie.
Boone said he would typically consult with Judge on changing his spot in the lineup, but didn’t this time.
“I knew he’d be fine with it,” Boone said.
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Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com.
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October 16, 2022 at 05:05AM
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