Yankees bump struggling Judge to No. 2 in lineup

CLEVELAND -- For 1 crippled astatine least, Aaron Judge's clip arsenic the Yankees' leadoff hitter is over.

Judge was penciled into the No. 2 slot for the Yankees successful the pregame lineup turned successful by manager Aaron Boone for Game 3 of New York's ALDS bid against the Guardians connected Saturday.

Boone said helium is simply trying to alteration things up.

"I conscionable wanted to flip that and it's thing I woke up to," Boone said "[Judge] has deed a batch of 2nd successful his career, and conscionable wanted to shingle that up a small bit."

The alteration was made aft Judge started the bid successful a 0-for-8 slump that including 7 strikeouts implicit 2 games. The bid is tied 1-1 entering the pivotal 3rd contention astatine Progressive Field. Second baseman Gleyber Torres volition bat archetypal successful the revamped lineup.

Perhaps baseball's preeminent powerfulness hitter, Judge is simply a non-traditional hitter to accidental the least. He batted successful the leadoff slot 34 times during the regular season, hitting a robust .366 with 13 homers successful that role. The frequence with which helium appeared successful that slot accrued arsenic the play progressed, generating a fewer other sheet appearances for Judge during his palmy pursuit of the American League location tally record. Judge was batting leadoff connected Oct. 4, erstwhile helium deed his record-breaking 62nd homer, breaking a necktie with Roger Maris.

Injuries to DJ LeMahieu and Andrew Benintendi played into the determination to usage Judge successful the leadoff spot, but wide the Yankees went 23-11 with him batting first.

LeMahieu and Benintendi are inactive injured and New York struggled to people against a formidable Guardians pitching unit implicit the archetypal 2 games, astatine slightest successful portion to Judge's dilatory commencement to the series.

"I deliberation he's conscionable a tick off, timing wise," Boone said. "I'm looking guardant to him going retired determination and stringing immoderate bully ABs together."

Torres deed .257 with a .310 on-base percent during the regular season. He started 3 games successful the leadoff slot, going 4-for-12.

Torres went 2-for-8 during the archetypal 2 games against Cleveland, hitting 3rd successful some contests. After Judge, Anthony Rizzo volition bat 3rd successful Game 3, followed by Giancarlo Stanton astatine cleanup, an denotation that those 2 sluggers are rounding into signifier aft caller wounded woes of their own.

"As a squad close now, we're conscionable a small much full than we were 10 days ago, wherever I consciousness similar Giancarlo was inactive moving his mode back, Rizzo to a grade was benignant of moving his mode back," Boone said.