NEW YORK – During this post-division clinching Bronx weekend, gaining the AL’s best record was on the Yankees’ agenda.
Competing with that plan was manager Aaron Boone’s priority to give certain players a break, like Yankees captain Aaron Judge, sitting on 58 home runs.
“I’ve been wanting to get him a day off for about a month now,’’ Boone said at Yankee Stadium before Friday night’s game, a 4-2 Pittsburgh Pirates win.
Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Austin Wells and Anthony Rizzo were rested from Friday’s lineup, and Boone said "it was tempting'' to send Judge or Stanton up in the late innings.
"But I really valued having those guys (rest Friday),'' said Boone, who got help from the Houston Astros on Friday night.
With Houston's win against the Cleveland Guardians, the Yankees' magic number for clinching the AL's best record was down to one with two games remaining - including the Yanks' Saturday afternoon date with Paul Skenes.
"We're not stopping until we get that ring, that's what I've been hearing since I got here, and that's how I've felt, too,'' said Jazz Chisholm Jr., who had two hits and two stolen bases, becoming one of four players this year with at least 20 homers and 40 steals.
Chisholm Jr., Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Volpe might be due to get a break from the lineup next, either Saturday or Sunday.
“A few of them will get at least a day,’’ said Boone, following Thursday night’s AL East clincher. "We’d love to get (best record). That said, I’m going to make sure I give guys a day here.
“I feel like we’ve got to do it. But we’ll be playing to win.’’
Aaron Judge's home run streak; Yankees' weekend plans, plus
Judge has homered in each of his last five games, tying a personal best streak, and he's launched seven homers in his last 12 games since Sept. 13.
But “he’s not paying for any of that,’’ Boone said of the captain’s mindset for reaching 60 homers – or the outside shot at matching his AL record of 62, set in 2022.
Judge didn’t lobby to play Friday, according to Boone. The captain had started 157 of the Yanks' 159 games through Thursday.
But Judge might return to the lineup Saturday, when the Yankees face Skenes (11-3, 1.99 ERA), the superb Pirates' rookie right-hander.
As for who starts in the best-of-five AL Division Series for the Yanks after Gerrit Cole in Game 1, Boone said he expects Carlos Rodon “to be one of those starters, whether it’s Game 2 or Game 3.’’
In his final regular season start of 2024 Friday, Rodon regretted the four walks that pushed up his pitch count and the two solo homers he surrendered in the sixth, tying the game after Chisholm's two-run single in the fifth.
Bryan Reynolds' second homer of the night, a two-run shot off Tommy Kahnle in the eighth, sent the Pirates to victory.
But Rodon (16-9, 3.96 ERA) reached his goal of making all 32 starts this year and he's in a far better place than last year's injury-riddled Yankees debut season, ending with a terrible loss at last-place Kansas City.
If Rodon starts an ALDS Game 3 on the road, that could mean Clarke Schmidt or Luis Gil starting Game 2, with those internal conversations continuing this weekend.
With off days after Games 1, 2, and 4 (if necessary), the Yanks might only need three starters in the ALDS.
“A tough decision, but a good decision,’’ Boone said of selecting his third playoff starter, along with narrowing his bullpen choices; the Yanks might take 12 pitchers and 14 position players.
A key reliever, Jake Cousins (strained pec) resumed throwing Friday and said the goal remains to be ready in time for the ALDS opener.
And this will be an extended break for the Yankees, who’ll have five days between Sunday’s regular season finale and the Oct. 5 ALDS opener at the Stadium.
Boone is planning a complete off day on Monday, with Bronx workouts beginning Tuesday, with “everything’’ from simulated innings to live batting practice prior to a normal Friday workout.
DJ LeMahieu hoping to be a postseason option
DJ LeMahieu hasn’t played since Sept. 4 due to a right hip impingement, and there might not have been a playoff roster spot for him if he’d been healthy.
Still, LeMahieu is about to ramp up his baseball activity in the coming days, if only to be available as an emergency reserve in postseason.
“I want to make sure I do everything I can to be an option,’’ LeMahieu said Friday, adding that a recent cortisone injection “helped a lot more than I thought it was going to, so I’m encouraged.’’
Beyond this October, LeMahieu’s Yankees future is in question, following another season wrecked by injury, though this year the veteran infielder’s performance slipped drastically.
In just 67 games, LeMahieu batted .204 with a .528 OPS. His contract runs through the 2026 season, at $15 million per year.
Forn now, “the encouraging thing is how he’s feeling,’’ said Boone, praising LeMahieu’s “willingness to grind to do everything he can to be an option’’ if needed.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Aaron Judge gets a rest, Yankees move a step closer to clinching AL's best record in defeat
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