{"id":46446,"date":"2025-04-03T22:18:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T22:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=46446"},"modified":"2025-04-03T22:18:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T22:18:43","slug":"yankees-shake-up-lineup-moving-young-slugger-to-leadoff-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=46446","title":{"rendered":"Yankees shake up lineup, moving young slugger to leadoff spot"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Yankees
Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The New York Yankees stormed out of the gates this season, sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in their opening series. But baseball is a game of highs and lows, and now they find themselves staring down the barrel of a sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks.<\/p>\n

As they take the field Thursday, their mission is simple: stop the slide and get back in the win column.<\/p>\n

Carrasco Gets the Call<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Carlos Carrasco, the veteran right-hander who earned his rotation spot with an impressive spring, takes the mound with a clear task\u2014steady the ship. The Yankees\u2019 bats exploded against Milwaukee, but their offense has since cooled, making pitching even more crucial. Carrasco will need to give the bullpen a break and keep the Diamondbacks from putting up crooked numbers early.<\/p>\n

\"Yankees
Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the other side, Arizona sends out Merrill Kelly, who will try to continue frustrating Yankees hitters. The matchup will be a test of resilience for New York\u2019s lineup, which has shown both firepower and inconsistency.<\/p>\n

A Shuffled Lineup<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Yankees skipper Aaron Boone isn\u2019t sitting still. With Paul Goldschmidt getting a breather, Boone is trying something different\u2014Ben Rice steps into the leadoff role and takes over at first base. Rice has been seeing the ball well, slashing .385\/.429\/.923, and despite a three-strikeout game Wednesday, he\u2019s still an intriguing table-setter with his mix of patience and power.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Austin Wells was also a candidate for the leadoff spot, but he\u2019s getting the day off, leading to J.C. Escarra stepping in. Meanwhile, Aaron Judge will serve as the designated hitter, shifting Cody Bellinger to right field and putting Trent Grisham in charge of center.<\/p>\n

Can the Offense Reignite?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While the Yankees haven\u2019t been completely shut down, their offensive outburst against Milwaukee hasn\u2019t quite carried over. If they\u2019re going to salvage this series, they\u2019ll need more timely hitting and better discipline at the plate.<\/p>\n

Rice\u2019s emergence at the top of the order could help set the tone, but it\u2019s going to take a team effort to break through against Kelly and the D-Backs\u2019 arms.<\/p>\n

\"Yankees
Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With a retooled lineup and a veteran presence on the mound, the Yankees will give it one more shot to beat Arizona.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New York Yankees are shaking things up ahead of Thursday’s finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks, putting Ben Rice at the top of the lineup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":46447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nYankees shake up lineup, moving young slugger to leadoff spot - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=46446\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yankees shake up lineup, moving young slugger to leadoff spot - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New York Yankees are shaking things up ahead of Thursday's finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks, putting Ben Rice at the top of the lineup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=46446\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-03T22:18:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/avtvip-2025-04-04T051825.682.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=46446\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=46446\",\"name\":\"Yankees shake up lineup, moving young slugger to leadoff spot - 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