The Yankees and Red Sox will face off in an elimination Game 3 on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium as the fierce AL East rivals look to compete for a spot in the ALDS.
New York's lineup was released ahead of first pitch, and there was a notable change to the lineup that took the field in Game 1, when the Yankees faced Boston's star lefty Garrett Crochet. With fellow southpaw Connelly Early toeing the rubber for the Red Sox in Game 3, it was expected that Aaron Boone would insert Paul Goldschmidt back into the lineup for a more favorable matchup. It's something he'd said he planned to do ahead of Game 1 when there was a lefty on the mound.
Instead, however, Ben Rice drew back into the Yankees' starting lineup after his impressive performance in Game 2, and Boone had a perfectly succinct explanation for the change.
"Ben Rice," Boone said, when asked what led him to change his mind on Goldschmidt being at first base against lefties (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com)
While New York might miss Goldschmidt's defensive prowess at first base, keeping Rice's bat out of the lineup was simply not an option in a do-or-die Game 3. Rice homered on the first pitch he saw on Wednesday night, which was also the first pitch he faced in the postseason in his career. Rice went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs in his postseason debut, and he's done enough to warrant a place in the Yankees' lineup for Game 3.
Yankees Lineup for Game 3 vs. Red Sox
1. Trent Grisham - CF
2. Aaron Judge - RF
3. Cody Bellinger - LF
4. Giancarlo Stanton - DH
5. Ben Rice - 1B
6. Amed Rosario - 3B
7. Jazz Chisholm Jr. - 2B
8. Anthony Volpe - SS
9. Austin Wells - C
Rice had a .752 OPS against lefties across 106 at-bats in 2025, well lower than Goldschmidt's .981 (149 at-bats). Still, Boone opted to roll with the hot hand on Thursday night.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. was also not in the starting lineup against Crochet in Game 1, but he has also returned to the mix for Game 3 against Early. The other lineup change for Game 3 will be Ryan McMahon being replaced at third base by Amed Rosario.
First pitch is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aaron Boone Explains Why He Changed His Mind About One Key Yankees Lineup Decision.
