When Jazz Chisholm Jr. took over at second base late in Tuesday night’s Game 1 of the Wild Card series, it was because manager Aaron Boone wanted to optimize the Yankees’ defense.
The Yankees were trailing by a run when Chisholm entered in the top of the eighth as a defensive replacement for Amed Rosario.
But the move loomed large during the Yankees’ comeback attempt in the bottom of the ninth, as the Yankees lost Rosario’s right-handed bat to face left-handed Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman.
“That’s a very fair question. That is the challenge,” Boone said Wednesday when asked about the decision to insert Chisholm at that point in the Yankees’ eventual 3-1 loss in the Bronx.
“The inning before, the ball’s starting to go over there, and just [wanting Chisholm’s] range and knowing some more lefties are gonna be back in the lineup at that point with our [right-handed relievers] in the game, I just kind of wanted him in there.”
Boone had given Rosario the start in Game 1 because left-handed ace Garrett Crochet was pitching for Boston.
Rosario is a menace versus lefties, hitting .302 with an .819 OPS against them this season, while the lefty-swinging Chisholm hit .248 with a .733 OPS against left-handers.
Removing Rosario in the eighth meant Chisholm batting against Chapman in the ninth. Chisholm flew out with the bases loaded for the second out of an inning in which the Yankees did not score.
Rosario is 3-for-7 with two home runs, four RBI and a walk in his career against Chapman.
Asked Wednesday if there were any moves he regretted or that kept him up at night, Boone replied, “Probably the, ‘Should I have kept Rosario in?’ That was the one thing, knowing we’re down at that point.”
Chisholm, who had 31 home runs and 31 stolen bases in the regular season, acknowledged after Game 1 that he was surprised he wasn’t in the starting lineup. He conducted the bulk of his brief postgame scrum facing his locker with his back turned to the media.
The 27-year-old Chisholm was back in the Yankees’ lineup for Game 2 with right-hander Brayan Bello starting for Boston.
USE CRUZ?
One Game 1 decision that Boone had no next-day qualms with was using Luke Weaver instead of Fernando Cruz in the top of the seventh.
Both relievers are right-handed, but Weaver is superior against left-handed batters, while Cruz is better against righties.
The Yankees were leading, 1-0, with one out and the bases empty when Weaver replaced ace Max Fried.
Righty-swinging Ceddanne Rafaela was due up at the time, but switch-hitter Nick Sogard was on deck, and Boone anticipated the Red Sox would deploy a lefty-swinging pinch-hitter after that.
“I was really good with Weave through that,” Boone said. “Especially with one out and nobody on, the last thing you kind of expect is a walk to Rafaela there. So I was very comfortable with that.”
Weaver issued an 11-pitch walk to Rafaela, then surrendered a double to Sogard and a two-run single to left-handed pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida.
Cruz replaced Weaver from there and recorded the final two outs of the inning.
GOING WITH GOLDY
Boone also explained his decision not to use a pinch-runner for Paul Goldschmidt, who led off the ninth with a single against Chapman.
The Yankees were down two runs at the time, and they loaded the bases with nobody out after Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger followed with singles of their own.
But Goldschmidt was stranded at third, as Giancarlo Stanton struck out before Chisholm flew out to medium-depth right field. The game ended when Trent Grisham struck out against Chapman.
“I really only had one runner, which is [Jasson] Domínguez, who I’m gonna use for [Stanton],” Boone said. “Had it been a 2-1 game, I would have run for Goldschmidt.”
Jose Caballero, the Yankees’ primary pinch-runner, started Game 1 at third base to get another righty in the lineup against Crochet.
Caballero returned to his typical bench role for Game 2, with Ryan McMahon starting at third base.
