That is 0 articles you have read today.
The Aporia is free and carries no advertising, so readers are the only
thing paying for it. If you are getting this much out of it, a small
donation is what keeps it independent.
Daily limit reached
You have read 0 articles today.
That is more than the 15 a day The Aporia gives away,
and well past what it can carry on nothing. Your allowance resets at
midnight.
There is no advertising here and nothing about you is sold, so readers
are the only thing paying for it. If the site is worth this much of
your day, it is worth a few dollars.
Everything else stays open: the
maps, the
directory and
search do
not count against this, and neither does re-opening something you have
already read today.
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 locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 61678 · logged 2026-10-07
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
The Aporia
