Yankees change lineup for Game 4 of World Series vs. Dodgers

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  • Jorge Castillo, ESPN staff writerOctober 29, 2024, 4:55 PM ET

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      ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.

NEW YORK — Pushed to the brink of elimination, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone considered a few lineup changes for Game 4 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. One of them moved the struggling Aaron Judge from third to leadoff. He wondered if that would trigger the referee. But he ultimately decided against it, citing Gleyber Torres’ success at that spot.

Instead, Boone made two other changes: Giancarlo Stanton, one of the team’s top two hitters in October, was demoted from the cleanup spot to fifth, traded with Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Austin Wells was reinstated to the lineup after not starting in the game. 3.

Stanton batted fifth for most of the regular season and the start of the postseason against right-handed starting pitchers. The Dodgers have right-hander Ben Casparius to open a bullpen game. So in a way it’s a return to normal.

But there is a larger strategic reason for the change. Flipping Stanton and Chisholm creates more left-right balance in the lineup — Stanton is right-handed and Chisholm hits left-handed — after the right-handed hitting umpire. Splitting the right-handers avoids giving the Dodgers an advantage with a right-handed reliever for more batters.

“I’m really just trying to be a little more balanced where they do a bullpen day and it’s more in line with what I’ve been doing all year,” Boone said. “But today against a bullpen day, you’re just trying to get a hit or two, which is not a favorable spot for them.”

Still, moving Stanton down could come at a price. Stanton is hitting .298 with six home runs, 14 RBIs and a 1.110 OPS in the postseason. He homered in Game 1 and has four hits in the series, making him one of the Yankees’ few consistent performers. Chisholm had three hits in the first two games of the World Series — and three steals in Game 1 — but he’s hitting just .170 with a .475 OPS in the playoffs.

Wells was not in the Game 3 series due to his struggles in October. The rookie catcher came off the bench Monday to go 0-for-2. He is 4-for-43 (.093) with 19 strikeouts in the postseason.

The Yankees are looking to become the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in World Series history.