Yankees Aaron Boone admits he should have made…
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Aaron Judge stood at third base as the go-ahead run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning Saturday when the Rays deliberately walked Ben Rice to carry up Randal Grichuk.
Aaron Boone let Grichuk hit for himself in the right-on-right matchup against reliever Hunter Bigge and didn’t have a lot of an clarification afterward for why he didn’t ship up Paul Goldschmidt as a pinch hitter instead.
“Fair. Definitely could have, should have, whatever,” Boone said after a crushing 5-4, 10-inning loss at Tropicana Field. “But definitely some consideration.”
Grichuk, who had entered the sport as a pinch runner for Giancarlo Stanton in the eighth inning, was off to an 0-for-9 start to the season and made it 0-for-10 when Bigge needed just one pitch to get him to fly out to end the ninth inning.
“Just felt like it was a good spot for [Grichuk] too,” said Boone, who confirmed Goldschmidt was out there off the bench. “But fair question.”
Randal Grichuk, who has yet to get a hit this season, watches the flight of his home run during a Yankees’ spring training win over the Cubs on March 24, 2026. AP
Bigge has reverse splits for his profession, which is probably going why the left-handed-hitting J.C. Escarra didn’t pinch hit for Grichuk.
But neither did Goldschmidt, and the missed alternative loomed large as the sport went to additional innings and finally turned into a fourth straight Yankees loss.
Signed during spring training to be a lefty crusher, Grichuk has began the season 0-for-10 with 5 strikeouts. Eight of those at-bats got here against left-handers.
“He’s played a couple games, hasn’t gotten results, [but] he’s hit a couple balls on the screws, hit one good to center [Friday] night,” Boone said before the sport. “Then obviously to start the year, with all the righties we had initially, there weren’t a lot of opportunities. So physically, I feel like he’s in a good place. Not a lot of spring at-bats, but hopefully as we get settled into the season and he gets some opportunities against some lefties, he’ll produce.”
Judge might get his second DH day of the season Sunday, with Stanton heading to the bench for the collection finale against the Rays. Boone had initially deliberate to do that Saturday, but after the Rays bumped lefty Shane McClanahan from Sunday’s start, Stanton will probably sit Sunday against righty Drew Rasmussen.
As Ryan McMahon works to get his bat on observe — he went 1-for-2 Saturday before being pinch hit for by Amed Rosarioin the seventh inning against a lefty — the Yankees are still counting on him being a staple in the lineup at third base any time Max Fried is on the mound, given his propensity for producing ground balls to the recent nook.
“That’s kind of Ryan’s superpower, especially as he tries to get it going here offensively,” Boone said. “The one thing we can count on is how good he is on that left side. With Max going, usually he’s pretty busy over there.”
Stay up to date with the latest trending topics! Visit our web site daily for the freshest Sports news and content, fastidiously curated to keep you informed.
