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BOSTON – It’s the playoffs, which means Gary Sanchez is back on the bench.
Aaron Boone has confirmed that Kyle Higashioka will start behind the plate with Gerrit Cole on the mound when the Yankees face the Red Sox in the AL wildcard game on Tuesday at Fenway Park.
When asked if Sanchez could be considered a DH – since Giancarlo Stanton is now a viable option in the outfield – Boone said that was unlikely.
“No, that means he’s potentially a stick on the bench,” Boone said Monday at Fenway Park, where the Yankees were due to practice before the rain altered those plans.
“But… we’ll talk about it and potentially DH. But no, probably a bat on the bench.
Sanchez has collapsed badly in the home stretch, going just 2-for-22 with three walks and 13 strikeouts in his last eight games. He’s also been without a hitting in his last 13 appearances at home, with a pair of walks and eight strikeouts.
A year ago, Sanchez only started two of the Yankees’ seven playoff games, which has led to much offseason speculation about his future in the Bronx – a discussion that will resume at the end of this season.
Higashioka said the opportunity to start the playoffs again “means a lot.”
But he doesn’t expect to do anything other than during the regular season.
“No, just because in the regular season I consider every game to be a game to win,” Higashioka said. “So here every game is really up for grabs. “
Gleyber Torres has been the first hitter in each of the last three games of the regular season after DJ LeMahieu fell with a sports hernia that put him on the injured list. Since LeMahieu will be unavailable again on Tuesday, Boone said he was inclined to put Torres back on top of the roster against the Red Sox.
“As I’m sitting here right now I’m probably thinking of Gleyber [will lead off]Boone said.
The manager added that he still needed to consult his coaching staff to “see exactly which route I want to take, but I think there’s a good chance it’s Gleyber.”
In 19 games since making the jump from shortstop to second, Torres has gone to 21 for 70 with four doubles, two homers and six RBIs to go with eight walks and 15 strikeouts and one. 815 OPS.
His OPS was only 0.676 before the change.
Boone said Luke Voit was placed on the 60-day IL to give the Yankees more flexibility in the roster, with the “reality that he wasn’t going to play for us” after being sidelined again by inflammation of the left knee.
This opened a place for right-hander Brody Koerner, whose contract was selected and he was optioned to Triple-A Scranton / Wilkes-Barre.
The Yankees have lost their first seven meetings to the Red Sox this season – and have also won the last six between the two teams.
Boone had a simple explanation for the disparity.
“I think we’re a better team and play better when we’ve played them more recently and I think in those first… seven, probably a handful of them were really competitive games that haven’t been our. way, ”Boone said. . “But I have the feeling that a few times we maybe weren’t playing at our best. I think part of that is that we are turning the boat around a bit here, especially in the second half of the season.
After playing a joker and ALDS prank in front of no fans last season due to COVID restrictions, Boone is looking forward to a full house on Tuesday night – even though it’s at Fenway.
“I think the last two times we’ve been here, when we’ve been here this summer and then obviously last week, you know there’s a buzz here,” Boone said. “It’s important here. It’s fun to play games here. It’s hard to play games here. Yes, I think there will be voltage, electricity. you can hope for a win-win game in the playoffs and two great franchises and teams. ”
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