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Why Aaron Boone stuck with lefty hitters in ugly Game 2 loss

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Cite

Joyce, G. (2026, October 7). Why Aaron Boone stuck with lefty hitters in ugly Game 2 loss. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/06/sports/why-aaron-boone-stuck-with-lefty-hitters-in-ugly-game-2-loss/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-07 · by Greg Joyce

Quick Summary

In Game 2 of the ALDS between the Yankees and the Rays, Yankees manager Aaron Boone faced criticism for not utilizing right-handed hitters against left-handed reliever Ian Seymour despite trailing 5-1. Boone stuck with predominantly left-handed batters who were retired by Seymour, which contributed to another weak offensive performance from the Yankees outside of Ben Rice’s two solo home runs. The article highlights Boone's defensive strategy and discusses Seymour's effectiveness against lefties compared to righties based on regular season statistics.
Written by AI on 2026-10-07, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In Game 2 of the ALDS between the Yankees and Rays, Yankees manager Aaron Boone faced criticism for his strategic choices. Trailing 5-1 in the sixth inning, Boone opted to have left-handed hitters Luis García Jr., Spencer Jones, and later Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham, and Austin Wells face left-handed reliever Ian Seymour, who retired all five batters. Despite having a six-man bench primarily composed of right-handed hitters, Boone did not utilize them until the eighth inning when he pinch-hit Paul Goldschmidt for Ryan McMahon. This decision led to discussions about the effectiveness of Boone's tactics as the Yankees struggled offensively and ultimately lost the game.

Written for “Yankees Lineup Choices” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Yankees Lineup Choices
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different games from the ALDS series between the Yankees and the Rays, with distinct dates and outcomes.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Aaron Boone's managerial decisions, with Article A suggesting changes for Game 3 while Article B critiques his choices in Game 2.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events, specifically Game 2 (Article A) and Game 3 (Article B) of the ALDS series.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15868 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Greg Joyce
60 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Except in practical terms for the Yankees, it will be crammed into the next month before the sport is expected to shut down because of a lockout.
🔮 Whether the two will finally match up again to allow him to be any kind of contributor for the Yankees in 2027, though, remains very much in question, setting up a $15 million decision. Access the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Try it freeAfter three separate calf strains sidelined him for five-plus months and relegated him to a pair of pinch-hit at-bats in October, the soon-to-be 37-year-old DH entered the offseason healthy.
🔮 Pitching coach Matt Blake and the team are in the midst of negotiating a new contract and moving toward a deal, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported Friday, which would ensure that the Yankees hang on to one of the best at his job in the game.
🔮 Some Yankees bosses may have been irked by Aaron Judge questioning whether they have gone all in enough, but Hal Steinbrenner insists he was not one of them.
🔮 After another disappointing playoff exit, Boone is coming back for a 10th season as manager next year, with Cashman also expected to return for his 30th season as general manager on a new contract.
🔮 The current president of baseball operations for the Mets was the top decision-maker for the Brewers (as general manager and then president of baseball operations) from September 2015 through October 2022, then spent the following year in an advisory role to ownership before landing in Queens. Access the Mets beat like never before Don’t miss Mike Puma’s text messages from Queens and beyond — he’s giving Sports+ subscribers the inside buzz on the Mets. Sign up NowDuring that time, through amateur drafts, international signings and trades, Stearns helped build the foundation of the roster that just swept the Dodgers in the NLCS and will play in the organization’s first World Series in 44 years.
🔮 Boone also dropped Spencer Jones — the Yankees cleanup hitter in each of the prior three playoff games — down to batting eighth in the lineup, the lowest he has hit against a right-hander since May 19 (facing Dylan Cease).
🔮 He may have more talent and tools than almost any other player on the roster, most notably his speed, athleticism and power, but the Yankees have not been able to get that out of him regularly enough, especially this year.
🔮 McMahon has not brought much offensively and then committed a fielding error on the first ball put in play in the bottom of the first inning on Saturday night at Tropicana Field, the first of four the Yankees would make in Game 2.
🔮 “So there would’ve been a right-hander I would have used at some point had we gotten runners on base, but by the time he was in the game it was 5-1.
Also by Greg Joyce
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 60 articles by Greg Joyce →

Topics

ALDS Game 2 Post Sports+ for Rays Yankees

Subjects

Yankees ORG · 6× Boone PERSON · 4× Seymour PERSON · 3× Greg Joyce PERSON · 1× Ian Seymour PERSON · 1× Jazz Chisholm Jr. PERSON · 1× Luis García Jr. PERSON · 1× Post Sports+ for ORG · 1× Rays ORG · 1× Spencer Jones PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Try it freeAaron Boone had left-handed hitters Luis García Jr. and Spencer Jones hit for themselves in the sixth inning, then stuck with three more lefties in the seventh (Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham and Austin Wells), with Seymour retiring all of them.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-07
🔮 “So there would’ve been a right-hander I would have used at some point had we gotten runners on base, but by the time he was in the game it was 5-1.
2026-10-07 · New York Post
Why Aaron Boone stuck with lefty hitters in ugly Game 2 loss · assertive framing

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

What is the point of having a six-man bench full of right-handed hitters if you are only going to use one across three innings against a lefty reliever with your season fading away? asserted
season → have → reliever
That was the scenario the Yankees faced Monday night in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Rays, trailing 5-1 in the sixth inning when Ian Seymour entered the game. asserted
Seymour → face → game
Try it freeAaron Boone had left-handed hitters Luis García Jr. and Spencer Jones hit for themselves in the sixth inning, then stuck with three more lefties in the seventh (Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham and Austin Wells), with Seymour retiring all of them. asserted
Seymour → try → them
Finally in the eighth, Boone pinch hit Paul Goldschmidt for Ryan McMahon, though the veteran righty bat hit a harmless pop-up on the way to another meager offensive performance outside of Ben Rice’s two solo homers. asserted
bat → hit → homers
“Seymour I view as very neutral,” Boone said Tuesday. asserted
Boone → view → Seymour
“So there would’ve been a right-hander I would have used at some point had we gotten runners on base, but by the time he was in the game it was 5-1. asserted
it → use → game
So I was playing more of a get on base, see if we could create traffic and then possibly shoot [Giancarlo Stanton] or Goldie or [Heliot] Ramos in a spot there.” uncertain
we → play → spot
This year, lefties hit .244 with a .789 OPS against Seymour while righties hit .217 with a .683 OPS. asserted
righties → hit → OPS
During a regular season in which the Yankees leaned on him heavily, using him in 81 of their 161 games, Brent Headrick mostly delivered, including allowing only 14.8 percent of inherited runners to score — which ranked sixth among qualified relievers. asserted
which → lean → relievers
But after he looked to be running out of gas down the stretch, the left-hander’s dip in velocity has carried over into the playoffs. asserted
dip → look → playoffs
His fastball averaged 93.2 mph (down from his season average of 94.1) in Monday’s Game 2, which included giving up a two-run single to Richie Palacios in the fifth inning after a George Lombard Jr. error extended the inning. asserted
error → average → inning
“I think we’ve seen velocity from anywhere from 91 to 94 in the last couple outings, so if we can keep him in the 94 range, there’s definitely plenty of effectiveness there,” pitching coach Matt Blake said Tuesday. asserted
Blake → think → effectiveness
“Striking the slider has — obviously — has become a priority, using the offspeed effectively, which he’s done in the second half of the year. asserted
he → strike → year
Using the splitter a little bit more to the righties, leaning into the slider to both lefties and righties and then he’s got to be effective with his command of the fastball, and ultimately that’s where we’re at this time of year. asserted
we → use → year
He’s been used a lot and he’s doing his best to stay fresh down the stretch, but ultimately we got to keep making pitches when it’s important at this time of year. asserted
it → use → year
After arriving back in New York early Tuesday morning, the Yankees had an optional workout at Yankee Stadium, though Boone had said Monday he hoped most of his players would “stay away” to get some rest. asserted
most → arrive → rest
“Whatever guys feel like they need to do today … hopefully guys were able to sleep at least a little bit and kind of recover today,” Boone said. asserted
Boone → feel → bit
“And I’m sure there will be some guys in, at least moving around and doing some things behind the scenes to be ready to go [Wednesday].” asserted
I → ’m → scenes
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