The New York Yankees and manager Aaron Boone took a different approach to their hitting order on Thursday night, slotting second-baseman Gleyber Torres into the cleanup spot. That move resulted in Torres going 0-for-4 on the night, and striking out in a bases-loaded situation early on in the contest.
Boone has continuously fielded Edwin Encarnacion, who’s parrot has a better chance of making contact with the baseball than he does. The designated hitter finished the night with two strikeouts (0-for-3) and a groundout. Outfielder Cameron Maybin would have been a more suitable option for the DH spot in the scenario that he didn’t replace Brett Gardner.
The ultimate reality of the situation is that the Yankees are down 3-1 in the series against a better team with more proficient pitching. Their starters are too powerful and efficient to bat around, despite the Yankees leaving plenty of men on base and opportunities missed.
To make matters worse for the Yanks, their bullpen has been putrid as well. Adam Ottavino has been torched by Houston, and Chad Green, who has been fantastic, allowed a timely three-run blast to give the Astros a 6-1 lead in the 6th inning.
Going into game five, Boone not only needs to make numerous changes to the batting order, but he needs to lift the emotions of his team. If Houston can win three straight games, the Yankees can surely do it too.
For the Astros, starter Zach Greinke pitched 4.1 innings, allowing just one run and three hits before handing the ball to the bullpen. The Bombers had their chances to strikes, especially in the first inning where they recorded only one run on a bases-loaded scenario with one out.
Who should the New York Yankees switch out in the batting order?
First off, Encarnacion should be benched for eternity. His 1-for-14 cold streak is hurting the team significantly, not to mention fellow slugger, Gary Sanchez’s issues hitting as well. At least Sanchez smashed a two-run homer in the bottom of the 6th to give the Yankees a glimmer of home.
Here’s a look at what the lineup could theoretically look like in game five:
1.) DJ LeMahieu
2.) Aaron Judge
3.) Gleyber Torres
4.) Giancarlo Stanton (?) –> Gary Sanchez
5.) Aaron Hicks
6.) Brett Gardner
7.) Cameron Maybin
8.) Didi Gregorius
9.) Gio Urshela
The defense needs to step up:
Aside from the offensive woes, the New York Yankees struggled defensively on Thursday. They allowed four errors, two coming from LeMahieu at first base and two from Gleyber Torres at second, which allowed two runs on separate occasions. Two of the mistakes occurred in the seventh inning, where the Astros recorded a run and put the game out of reach.
They must elevate their defensive quality and prepare to play a clean game in Houston on Friday night.