ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Aaron Boone had the right man on his bench. The Yankees manager just chose not to use him.
With two Yankees outs in the top of the ninth inning Saturday, Aaron Judge stood at third base as the go-ahead run. The Rays intentionally walked Ben Rice to bring up Randal Grichuk. Paul Goldschmidt sat unused in the dugout.
Boone let Grichuk swing. Reliever Hunter Bigge needed one pitch to end the inning. The Yankees went on to lose 5-4 in 10 innings at Tropicana Field, extending their losing streak to four straight games.
After the game, Boone did not hide from what he had done.
Boone’s admission after the loss
“Fair. Definitely could have, should have, whatever,” Boone said. “But definitely some consideration.”
That was the Yankees manager’s answer when asked why Goldschmidt, a right-handed hitter with a career .267 average and five Gold Gloves at first base, did not step in for Grichuk at that moment.
Boone confirmed Goldschmidt was available. He acknowledged it was the right question. Then the Yankees skipper offered only a thin defense.
“Just felt like it was a good spot for [Grichuk] too,” Boone said. “But fair question.”
Grichuk flew out to center on one pitch. The Yankees stranded Judge at third and Rice on first. The game moved to extras, where it eventually slipped away in the bottom of the 10th.
Grichuk’s struggles made the choice harder to defend
The numbers around Grichuk made Boone’s call difficult to explain. The veteran Yankees outfielder had entered the game as a pinch-runner for Giancarlo Stanton in the eighth inning, meaning he had not batted. He was 0-for-9 on the season before that at-bat. He was 0-for-10 when it was over.
The Yankees signed Grichuk during spring training specifically to crush left-handed pitching. Eight of his first 10 at-bats came against lefties. Bigge, a right-hander, was the wrong matchup for him.
Boone noted that Bigge carries reverse splits for his career, meaning left-handed batters have not fared much better against him than right-handed ones. That explained why J.C. Escarra, a left-handed hitter also on the bench, did not get the call. But Goldschmidt hits right-handed, and there was no statistical reason for the Yankees to avoid him in that spot.
Boone had spoken before the game about Grichuk’s slow start without apparent concern.
“He’s played a couple games, hasn’t gotten results, [but] he’s hit a couple balls on the screws, hit one good to center [Friday] night,” Boone said. “Hopefully as we get settled into the season and he gets some opportunities against some lefties, he’ll produce.”
Five of Grichuk’s first 10 outs came via strikeout. The production simply has not followed.
A pattern emerging over two nights
Saturday was not an isolated incident. The night before, Boone made a similar late-game decision that contributed to a 5-3 Yankees loss to Tampa Bay. The back-to-back missteps drew sharp focus from reporters in the visiting clubhouse.
The Yankees have now gone 4-for-27 with runners in scoring position over the four-game losing streak, leaving 12 runners on base Saturday alone. Those are numbers that put extra weight on every managerial call in close games.
When a team cannot cash in on chances, the margin for tactical error shrinks. Boone’s bench decisions have shrunk it further this week.
Lineup shuffling with Stanton and Judge
Boone also addressed his plans for the series finale Sunday against Tampa Bay. The Yankees managerhad originally intended to give Judge a second designated hitter day of the season Saturday. That plan changed when the Rays scratched lefty Shane McClanahan from Sunday’s start, replacing him with right-hander Drew Rasmussen.
With a righty on the mound, Stanton will likely sit Sunday while Judge moves into the DH spot. That is a more standard deployment for that lineup construction against right-handed pitching.
Boone also discussed third baseman Ryan McMahon, who went 1-for-2 Saturday before being replaced by Amed Rosario in the seventh inning against a lefty. McMahon has struggled at the plate early in the season, but Boone said his defensive value at third base remains a priority whenever Max Fried pitches.
“That’s kind of Ryan’s superpower, especially as he tries to get it going here offensively,” Boone said. “The one thing we can count on is how good he is on that left side. With Max going, usually he’s pretty busy over there.”
Fried allowed three runs in eight innings Saturday. The Yankees took the lead twice and lost both times. Grichuk’s at-bat in the ninth was one of several moments the Yankees could point to as the difference.
Boone pointed to it himself.
“Definitely could have, should have,” he said.
The Yankees close out the Tampa series Sunday before returning to New York. Four losses in a row have turned a promising start into a scrutinized stretch, and the manager is squarely in the middle of the conversation.
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