The New York Yankees faced consequences for their unconventional lineup strategy in Tuesday’s game against the Mets, resulting in a 3-2 defeat. Manager Aaron Boone’s decision to place bench players Jahmai Jones and J.D. Davis in key batting positions, flanking stars Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, proved ineffective.
Boone explained his rationale for the lineup changes, citing the presence of Mets’ left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana as a factor. He expressed hope that Jones could energize the top of the order despite limited playing time, and that Davis, who hadn’t played since July 4, would provide a strong presence in the middle of the lineup.
However, the strategy backfired as Jones, Juan Soto, and Davis collectively went hitless in eight at-bats, striking out six times. Jones, leading off, failed to get a hit in three attempts before being replaced by a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. The Mets’ pitchers, wary of Judge’s power, walked him three times, opting to face the less threatening Davis instead.
Key moments highlighted the lineup’s ineffectiveness. In the third inning, with the Yankees leading 1-0 and runners on first and second, Jones struck out on just four pitches. The following inning, after Judge received another walk, Davis grounded into a double play, ending the inning and squandering another opportunity.
The outcome underscored the risks of Boone’s unconventional lineup choices and their impact on the game’s result and blunder to tinker with a lineup that yielded big just a day before.
Yankees’ new lineup fails to protect Judge
The Yankees continue to experiment with their batting order, seeking the optimal arrangement around star players Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. Tuesday’s game saw Boone’s strange approach, with infrequently used right-handed hitters Jones and Davis placed in crucial lineup positions.
The strategy proved to be a mistake, as Jones and Davis went hitless in six at-bats, striking out four times and leaving five runners stranded. Their poor performance led to their replacement by Trent Grisham and Ben Rice in the seventh inning.
The decision to rely on players with limited recent game experience in such pivotal roles raised eyebrows, especially given former teammate Luis Severino’s recent critique of the team’s offensive depth.
Judge, the Yankees’ captain, faced an extremely cautious pitching approach from the Mets. He saw only two strikes across three at-bats, drawing three walks as pitchers consistently avoided challenging him with Davis batting next. This strategy effectively neutralized Judge’s offensive impact for most of the game.
After the game, manager Aaron Boone acknowledged the risk of teams continuing to pitch around Judge. He expressed hope that stabilizing the middle of the lineup in the coming days would force opponents to pitch to Judge more frequently.
“Of course [I fear teams will continue to pitch around Judge],” Yankees manager Boone tried to defend his choice. “We’ve seen some teams take that approach. But we’ll get that middle of order more settled here hopefully in the coming days too so that changes the equation a bit. But, yeah, there’s going to be times where teams take that approach sometimes… So we just got to get the middle of our order a little more settled and hopefully that forces teams to go after Aaron.”
Despite the frustrating circumstances, Judge maintained a positive attitude. He stated that while going hitless wasn’t ideal, he wouldn’t mind such games if they resulted in team victories.
Boone must answer questions
Manager Boone’s decision to tinker the Yankees’ lineup against left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana of the Mets led to some unconventional choices. Rookie Ben Rice was given a day off due to his struggles against southpaws, as indicated by his 62 OPS+ in such matchups.
This adjustment resulted in Jahmai Jones being placed in the leadoff position, marking him as the sixth different Yankee to occupy that spot in the batting order this season. Jones’ limited but promising performance when starting – a .321 batting average and 165 OPS+ across 33 plate appearances – factored into this decision.
However, Jones’ inexperience in top-order batting was evident, with only 44 career plate appearances and no starts above the fifth spot in the lineup prior to this game. Similarly, J.D. Davis had seen minimal action, with just one at-bat since July 4.
Boone’s strategy aimed to address the team’s difficulties against left-handed pitching, as the Yankees ranked 19th in MLB with a .697 OPS against southpaws. Before the game, Boone explained his attempt to balance the lineup, praising Jones for his previous good at-bats despite limited playing time.
The more controversial aspect of Boone’s lineup shuffle was his choice to protect Aaron Judge by placing Davis in the cleanup spot. This move raised eyebrows given Davis’ underwhelming performance in that position, with a 70 OPS+ in the cleanup role this season, albeit in a small sample size.
Boone’s lineup decisions reflected an attempt to optimize against left-handed pitching, but the choices, particularly regarding Judge’s protection, were met with skepticism given the available options and recent performance data.
Boone expressed confidence in Davis’s readiness despite his lack of recent game action. He explained that modern training methods allow players to simulate at-bats effectively, even when not in the lineup. Davis had been sidelined due to illness, but had recently regained his health and had been working in the batting cages to maintain his form.
However, Davis’s performance did not meet expectations. In three crucial at-bats following walks to Aaron Judge, Davis failed to capitalize, striking out twice and grounding into a double play. His season statistics with the Yankees remain poor, with just one hit in 16 at-bats and eight strikeouts across six games.
The Yankees’ recent struggles have led Boone to frequently adjust the lineup in search of offensive production. Ben Rice, a left-handed rookie, had been leading off recently but was benched for this game. Austin Wells, who had been hitting well with an .855 OPS since June 1, was rested due to workload management, though he later entered as a pinch-hitter without success.
With another left-handed pitcher, Sean Manaea, scheduled to start for the Mets in the series finale, a similar lineup construction remains possible. This situation highlights the Yankees’ current bench weakness, an area that could potentially be addressed before the upcoming trade deadline or through the return of injured players like Stanton, Jon Berti, and Jasson Domínguez.
These lineup challenges and the team’s struggles also underscore the need for roster improvements and the importance of having a deep, versatile bench in navigating a long baseball season.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
Halfway thru the season and still no consistent batting order. How can you put two guys in crucial spots who have not had any at bats in the last 2 months? Makes no sense at all, Judge was lucky he saw 3 strikes, Tho not sure the 3rd one was a strike. This is getting difficult to watch and support.
Why with Rice’s fly ball to deep centerfield did the runners not move up a base. Yes, Bader is an excellent outfielder, but he cannot throw a strike from that spot on the field to third or even second. That is, if the runners tag and move on the catch. with that happening, it can change the way the pitcher makes his next pitch, plus they threw a lot of balls in the dirt.
I am a hardcore fan, but man some of this makes no sense at all to me. Yes, I am an old man and not in the dugout with Boone, but we need to start playing fundamental baseball.
Great comment, Greg Rebert. I’m a diehard Yankee fan of 64+ years, since I was 5; I could say 69 years, but my memory of things from birth to 4 is not great, but I distinctly remember the 1960 season.
When I heard the starting lineup mentioned on the pregame show, my first (ironic) thought was: Does Boone have a $1 Million bet on the Mets to win because this lineup has Zero chance of winning?
Like you, it’s getting tough to watch this horrible lineup play (other than Judge & Soto, along with Volpe & Wells lately).
Wells is getting better & better with every game he starts. Despite the lefty pitcher, Wells should have been hitting 4th as the DH, so he could rest some from his catching duties & still offer some protection to Judge.
Hitting Davis, a player Rejected by the A’s, who are the Worst team in baseball, was an act of Sick Humor. Did Boone really expect that piece of dung to protect Judge?! Are you Insane, Boone? Even Volpe would have been a better choice in the 4h spot, but it unquestionably should have been Wells.
It was COMICAL to hear Michael Kay say today (Wednesday) that the problem with the Yankees is “ROSTER CONSTRUCTION.” This from the man who recently described Cashman as a HOF GM. Really? And who is responsible for the Yankees’ “ROSTER CONSTRUCTION” this year & the previous 14 inept years, Michael? It was Cashman, your HOF (LOL!) GM.
Yet, Kay refuses to rip Cashman for his Indisputable Incompetence in “ROSTER CONSTRUCTION” for the approx. 15 years since the Fab 5 of Jeter, Mo, Posada, Pettitte & Williams were handed to him by the Brilliant Gene Michaels & Bob Watson.
I realize & fully appreciate that Kay may have developed a friendship with Boone & Cashman after working with them for many years, and as a loyal friend myself, I can appreciate how hard it has to be to rip Cashman & Boone. But you’re a professional baseball commentator, Michael, and you need to start doing your job & be OBJECTIVE in analyzing why the Yankees “ROSTER CONSTRUCTION” is so AWFUL, despite a $300+ Million payroll.
And Objectivity & Overwhelming Empirical Evidence indicates that Cashman ALONE is responsible for this “ROSTER CONSTRUCTION.” NO ONE ELSE IS RESPONSIBLE, KAY! So, Blame him!
Kay admitted today that the $45 Million left on DJ’s contract is an “AWFUL CONTRACT.” RIGHT, KAY! AND WHO SIGNED HIM TO THAT BLOATED DEAL? Cashman.
Btw, Kay, I’d be willing to bet you $50,000 that Cashman would not have ANY success with some other that didn’t give him a $300 Million payroll, if he Finally gets fired or released.
Finally, Kay’s defense of Brainless Brian was, basically, that his hands are tied because of the size of the Yankees payroll. And who made that payroll, Michael? Cashman.
Cashman traded for Stanton, Despite his Existing Injury History as a Much Younger man with Miami; then Cashman turned around & acted Shocked at how often Stanton has gotten injured with the Yankees. And that doesn’t constitute Hypocrisy & Ignorance on Cashman’s part for not foreseeing that a man who got injured frequently in his youth would be prone to getting injured Frequently as he aged? Come on, Michael, that was a No Brainer.
I Adored Mickey Mantle, but I knew once his injuries started coming in his younger days that there would be far more as he aged. In fact, if Mickey hadn’t been injured so often, he would be in the conversation as the Greatest Player Ever because he had More Power & More Speed than Mays. Stengel famously said of Mantle when he was young, “My God, the boy runs faster than (Ty) Cobb.”