The Yankees have been trying to find the right combination to hit on either side of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.
On Tuesday, that responsibility fell to a pair of seldom-used right-handers, Jamai Jones and J.D. Davis, with disastrous results.
The Yankees were set to face Mets left-hander Jose Quintana, and manager Aaron Boone used Jones and Davis, but Jones was 0-for-6, struck out four and turned into a double play in the game in the Bronx, and the team lost 3-2.
The Yankees acquired Davis from the Athletics in late June to play against left-handed pitchers, but he did not feature in Tuesday’s game.
Davis, who hit cleanup behind Aaron Judge, who was walked four times, went 0-for-3 in six games with the Yankees and is now 1-for-16 with eight strikeouts.
“I thought Quintana did a good job of slowing him down and speeding him up,” manager Aaron Boone said, “making that kind of pull, getting hot around the belt and sneaking the ball. He did that a little bit with J.D., letting J.D. get ahead a little bit when he changed speeds.”
Davis, who came in as a pinch hitter for Ben Rice in the seventh inning, was playing for the first time since July 4 and starting for the first time since July 3.
The Yankees faced a lot of left-handed pitchers after acquiring Davis, but hardly any after that, and Davis was placed on the disabled list with gastroenteritis before the All-Star break.
Meanwhile, Jones started as the designated hitter and batted leadoff for the first time in his major league career.
He entered the night batting .350 with a 1.059 OPS in 22 at-bats against left-handed pitchers this season, but he was hitless in three at-bats with two strikeouts before being pinch-hit by Trent Grisham in the seventh inning.
“The time we’ve spent [Jones] “He had a lot of really good at-bats, especially coming up against left-handers,” Boone said before the game.
Carlos Narvaez made his first major league start on Tuesday night, going 0-for-2 with two strikeouts and two strikeouts with Luis Gil as catcher, before pinch-hitting for Austin Wells.
Narvaez made his MLB debut as a defensive replacement against the Rays on Saturday and recorded his first career hit.
But to give Wells some rest, he made his first start at catcher on Tuesday against Quintana.
“He’s a really good catcher,” Boone said. “Smart, good presence, confident at the position. I have a lot of confidence in him and a lot of faith in his character. I’m excited to have him back there. He’s been Lewis’ catcher a number of times in the past, so I expect him to be a good fit.”
The Mets will start another left-hander on Wednesday, but Wells is expected to return to the lineup as catcher for Gerrit Cole.
Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) took more batting practice on the high-velocity pitching machine and did some running on Tuesday as he continues to prepare for his return next week.
Left-hander Clark Schmidt threw 20 bullpen pitches on Tuesday, his second time off the mound since taking four weeks off.
Jose Trevino (quadriceps) did some light running in the outfield early Tuesday. … Anthony Rizzo (broken arm) also did agility work in the outfield. … Ian Hamilton (latissimus dorsi) is “progressing well” in his throwing program but “is still a little ways off” to play, Boone said.
