With DJ LeMahieu hurting, Gleyber Torres bats leadoff against Rays
The Yankees' Gleyber Torres is greeted in the dugout after he scored against the Rays during the first inning of an MLB game at Yankee Stadium on Friday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
With the Yankees on the cusp of clinching a playoff berth and DJ LeMahieu out of the lineup because of a hip injury, Aaron Boone went with a funky-looking batting order against the Rays on Friday night.
Gleyber Torres was in the leadoff spot for only the third time this season and the fifth time in his career. Rougned Odor started at third base, only his second start since Sept. 9. Joey Gallo, who didn’t start Thursday’s game in Toronto because of a sore forearm, returned to the lineup. And Kyle Higashioka started for the third straight game behind the plate.
It all started with Torres, who has turned himself into a top-of-the-order candidate since the Yankees moved him from shortstop back to second base on Sept. 13.
In his previous 14 games going into Friday, Torres was batting .353 (18-for-51) with two home runs, six RBIs and a .960 OPS. He doubled and scored on Giancarlo Stanton’s two-out single to tie the score at 1-1 in the first inning Friday night.
Asked why he chose Torres for leadoff against Rays lefthander Shane McClanahan, Boone said: "Wanting to get him up there, and the challenge of just trying to create a little spacing with left, right and everything. But, obviously, like the quality of Gleyber’s at-bats and feel like he’s a guy that can impact us at the top."
For the season, Torres was batting .261 with nine home runs, 51 RBIs and a .701 OPS. He hit one of the Yankees’ five home runs in their 6-2 victory over the Blue Jays on Thursday.
"I think offensively speaking, it’s actually a little bit in line with what much of the year’s been," Boone said. "He’s obviously hit some balls out of the ballpark and a big homer [Thursday]. I think that’s the biggest thing for him this year is he hasn’t hit the ball out of the ballpark. But I feel like the vast majority of the season, the at-bat quality has been there. He had about a two-, three-week stretch where he really struggled. But other than that, I feel like at-bat-wise, he’s been fairly consistent, just without the power.
"I do feel like over the last couple of weeks, he’s been in a good place, given us really quality at-bats, competitive at-bats, starting to drive the ball. He’s gotten some big hits, obviously, in some big situations to drive in runs. So I love where he’s at right now. As I’ve said all along, he’s an impact player when he’s playing well and an important player for us."
The Yankees went into Friday knowing they could clinch a playoff spot with a win and either a Boston or Seattle loss. They could clinch the wild-card home game with a win and a Boston loss.
"We’ve put ourselves in a pretty good position here heading into the weekend," Boone said. "But I think everyone in that room understands that we’re not even close to having accomplished anything or, certainly, what our ultimate goal is. We’re really are just trying to focus in each and every day on the task at hand. I like where our mindset is, where our focus is, where our preparation is."
Standing on the other side of that was the AL East champion Rays, who probably would love nothing more than to knock the rival Yankees out of playoff contention. Tampa Bay, which will play the winner of Tuesday’s wild-card game in the Division Series, used its "A’’ lineup against lefthander Nestor Cortes, although Pete Fairbanks replaced McClanahan to start the fourth.
Credit: AP/Mary Altaffer
"I would expect them to come in here and be very competitive and want to win these games," Boone said. "I’m sure if there’s anything that they’re worried about with any guys physically, they’ll probably be cautious in those areas, but I’m sure they’re out to come beat us."
Boone said before the game that LeMahieu — who left Thursday’s game in the sixth — was set to meet with the team doctor, who would determine the extent of his injury. It was unclear if he was available off the bench Friday.
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
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