Yankees, facing elimination, change lineup for G4

NEW YORK — Pushed to the brink of elimination, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone considered a few lineup changes for Game 4 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. One of them was moving the struggling Aaron Judge from third to leadoff. He wondered whether that would spark Judge. But he ultimately decided against it, citing Gleyber Torres‘ success in that spot.

Instead, Boone made two other changes: Giancarlo Stanton, one of the team’s two best hitters in October, was moved down from the cleanup spot to fifth, switching with Jazz Chisholm Jr, and Austin Wells was reinserted in the lineup after not starting in Game 3.

Stanton batted fifth most of the regular season and the start of the postseason against right-handed starting pitchers. The Dodgers have right-hander Ben Casparius opening a bullpen game. So, in a way it’s a return to normal.

But there’s a bigger strategic reason for the change. Flipping Stanton and Chisholm creates more left-right balance in the lineup — Stanton is right-handed, and Chisholm bats left-handed — after the right-handed-hitting Judge. Splitting the right-handers avoids giving the Dodgers an advantage with a right-handed reliever for multiple batters.

“Really just trying to be a little more balanced, with them doing a bullpen day and this being more in line with kind of what I’ve done all year,” Boone said. “But today against a bullpen day, just trying to net an at-bat or two that’s not a favorable spot for them.”

Still, moving Stanton down could come at a cost. Stanton is batting .298 with 6 home runs, 14 RBIs and a 1.110 OPS in the postseason. He homered in Game 1 and has four hits in the series, making him one of the Yankees’ few consistent performers. Chisholm had three hits in the first two games of the World Series — and three steals in Game 1 — but he’s hitting just .170 with a .475 OPS in the playoffs.

Wells was not in the Game 3 lineup because of his October struggles. The rookie catcher came off the bench Monday to go 0-for-2. He’s 4-for-43 (.093) with 19 strikeouts in the postseason.

The Yankees are looking to become the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in World Series history.