The Yankees made an unusual lineup move Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels, leaving Jazz Chisholm Jr. out of the batting order and turning second base over to Amed Rosario. Paul Goldschmidt started at first base in place of Ben Rice, while Cody Bellinger got the day off and Randal Grichuk was in left field.
The shift came one night after Chisholm delivered a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth of New York's 11-10 comeback victory, a reminder of how quickly the lineup can change even after a late-game spark. The decision also lined up with Aaron Boone's push for right-handed hitting against Angels left-hander Reid Detmers, who has been tougher on lefties than on righties in his career.
Chisholm's absence was notable because his bat had been producing power and traffic on the bases, but it had also come with swing-and-miss. He had struck out in 29.2% of his plate appearances, a rate that can invite a temporary reset when a manager is trying to match bats to a specific pitcher.
Detmers entered with a career.764 OPS allowed to left-handed hitters and a.740 OPS allowed to right-handers, a small split but one that still pointed Boone toward a more favorable handedness mix. Chris Kirschner wrote on X that there was “Lefties have a career.764 OPS vs. a.740 OPS for righties against Reid Detmers” and added that there was “no Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, or Jazz Chisholm Jr. today.”
The larger picture for New York is that this was not a blanket benching so much as a targeted lineup adjustment built around one matchup. Bellinger had posted a 1.016 OPS in 153 at-bats against southpaws in 2025, which underscored why the Yankees can afford to give one regular a rest and still keep the order built around platoon advantages. Tuesday's lineup made clear that Boone wanted every edge he could get against Detmers, even if it meant sitting three notable names at once.