NEW YORK – Against the Red Sox’s lefty ace Garrett Crochet, Yankees manager Aaron Boone has some lineup decisions to weigh in Tuesday’s Wild Card Series opener.
Already, we know he’s decided to start lefty-hitting Austin Wells at catcher, and he’s leaning toward starting Paul Goldschmidt at first base.
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Goldschmidt owns a .336 batting average and a .981 OPS against lefties this year, but he’s 2-for-15 lifetime against Crochet with zero extra-base hits.
Lefty hitters Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ben Rice, or even Trent Grisham could be on the bench to begin this best-of-three series at Yankee Stadium.
Here’s our best educated guess at Boone’s Game 1 lineup:
Yankees’ projected Game 1 Wild Card Series lineupAnalysis, Yankees’ projected lineup vs. Garrett Crochet
Sep 28, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) hits a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Chisholm is good to go, said Boone, after taking a 97-mph fastball off his left forearm Saturday against Baltimore.
But Rosario is 6-for-9 with a home run against Crochet, and Boone might prefer having his Gold Glove caliber third baseman Ryan McMahon (1-for-3 vs. Crochet) in the lineup with lefty groundball specialist Max Fried starting.
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That leaves second base as the likely spot for Rosario, with Chisholm, Rice and Jose Caballero available on the bench.
Preview: 3 things to know about Yankees vs Red Sox in AL Wild Card series
Still weighing his lineup decision Monday, Boone said that “Max being on the mound factors in’’ to his defensive choices.
Rice clubbed two home runs in Sunday’s regular season finale. He’s 1-for-8 with a double against Crochet, while Wells is 2-for-9 with a double and a homer.
“Just because Rice isn’t in there doesn’t mean he won’t impact the game in a big way,’’ said Boone. “Sometimes you’re putting (reserve players) in a better spot to impact the game off the bench.’’
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And that harkens back to Boone’s late entry into Game 7 of the 2003 AL Championship Series, when his impact contribution was an 11th-inning, pennant-winning homer against the Red Sox.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Yankees’ Game 1 AL Wild Card projected lineup vs Red Sox