Playoff baseball is almost upon us, and after finalizing their roster, the Yankees have set their starting nine for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series in the Bronx. It’s a righty-heavy lineup, intentionally aligned to face lefty Payton Tolle, who is slated to make his first career postseason start for the Red Sox.
Paul Goldschmidt, who hit .299 against lefties this season with a .393 OBP and .967 OPS, will take the leadoff spot and hopefully allow the perfect setup for Ben Rice. The 27-year-old designated
hitter batting second in the order posted good numbers from the Bronx during the regular season, hitting .254 with a .371 OBP and .917 OPS, bolstered by a team-high 41 homers.
Heliot Ramos—another lefty masher like Goldschmidt—is batting third and starting in right, followed by Bellinger starting in left. Placing Bellinger in the cleanup spot could work out well for the Yankees, adding some power to give some of the younger guys, like George Lombard Jr., a boost of confidence before stepping up to the plate in the five-hole.
Amed Rosario will start at third, and this came as a somewhat surprise in my opinion. Despite only making six starts in September, the Yankees placed enough confidence in him to bat sixth in the order for Game 1, perhaps in part to a sluggish month from José Caballero.
Fans will surely have mixed opinions about Anthony Volpe at second, who is getting the start over Jazz Chisholm Jr.. The New Jersey native has played well with the Yankees since rejoining the majors, but being cautiously optimistic about him is certainly a gamble — especially in the postseason. Chisholm had just a .650 OPS against southpaws in 2026, so they’re certainly playing the matchups game with Tolle on the bump for Boston.
Spencer Jones getting the start over Trent Grisham isn’t particularly surprising, since Grisham hasn’t started a game since early September, and it will be exciting to see how Jones shows up when the lights are at their brightest. He can be an adventure in center at times, but even before his recent injury, Grisham’s glovework had fallen off from his heights of past years.
The Yankees also seem confident in Wells’ ability to round out the order and remain defensively adept behind the plate. He’ll be coordinating with Cam Schlittler, who as discussed the other day, will get the start from the mound.
Here’s a look at the Red Sox lineup, which puts Roman Anthony leading off and DH’ing in his first career postseason game.
Don’t miss a second of the action in this rivalry matchup, which begins Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.
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