After lighting up the scoreboard like it was the Fourth of July in Saturday’s 20–9 beatdown of the Milwaukee Brewers, the New York Yankees decided not to mess too much with the vibes heading into Sunday’s series finale.
Despite facing right-handed pitcher Aaron Civale, manager Aaron Boone rolled out a lineup that looks nearly identical to the one that produced one of the most lopsided offensive displays in franchise history.
Most notably, Paul Goldschmidt remains in the lead-off spot—an unconventional move that paid immediate dividends. Goldy got things going with a first-inning homer on Saturday, and Boone isn’t about to change up the formula just because of a new arm on the mound.
Minor Tweaks at the Bottom of the Order
The top six in the Yankees’ order stays the same, including Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Anthony Volpe, and Austin Wells, who drops back into the six-hole.
Wells already has two homers this season and continues to prove he’s more than just a bat-first catcher—he’s a tone-setter who just so happens to be parked in the middle of the order for now.
But Sunday’s game brings slight changes to the bottom third.
Jasson Dominguez, who batted eighth on Saturday, has been bumped up to the seventh slot. Boone is rewarding the 21-year-old switch hitter’s sharp at-bats and hoping to get him more chances with runners on base.
Ben Rice, who made noise on opening day with a smoked double off the right-field wall, is back in the lineup after sitting against lefty Nestor Cortes. He’ll bat eighth, a sweet spot for his lefty power stroke against a righty like Civale.
And finally, Oswaldo Cabrera slides back into the nine-hole, taking over third base duties from Pablo Reyes. Cabrera may not offer overwhelming upside with the bat, but he’s a cleaner defender than Reyes, who committed two errors on Saturday and didn’t help himself much at the plate either.
Sticking With What Works
It’s clear Boone saw what happened Saturday and decided not to overthink it. Even with a righty on the mound, the manager didn’t want to shuffle the deck too much. When your offense is firing on all cylinders, sometimes the best move is just staying out of the way.
The Yankees are looking to ride the wave and keep the bats hot as they try to complete the sweep over the Brewers and start their 2025 season with a bang.