We won’t know until the lineup is posted Thursday who will be starting at first base for the Yankees in Game 3, and Aaron Boone may not know himself much before he pencils in whomever it is.
"I haven't made that decision yet, so we'll see. It's kind of one I'm still deliberating on,” Aaron Boone said Wednesday when asked if Jon Berti, who is 3-for-5 lifetime against Royals Game 3 starter Seth Lugo, would be back at first in Game 4. “I obviously didn’t have to make that decision last night or this morning, but obviously just let the day come to us a little bit, and we'll talk to a few coaches and things like that and let who I want to weigh in on that weigh in and try and make the best decision.”
Berti made his first career appearance, not just start, at first base in Game 2, becoming the third player ever to make his first career start at a position in the postseason, and the first to make his first career appearance at that position period in October.
He got that nod in part because Oswaldo Cabrera is still weaker hitting left-on-left as he winds down on switch-hitting, and Berti looked like a natural there.
But, as Boone also noted, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and Boone may see a lane that has one player as the better option to start because the other may be needed elsewhere.
“It's not always necessarily just who starts the game, but how it sets you up on the bench and things like that,” Boone said, “but I feel like I have a good decision in front of me. It was really good to see Jon out there handling first base so well in his first go around at that, and really give quality at-bats. His at-bats last night from jump were really good, and it was really good to see.”