Yankees Making Lineup Change For Game 3 Of The World Series

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The New York Yankees tweaked the bottom half of their lineup for Monday's pivotal Game 3 of the World Series.

New York trails 2-0 following a pair of heartbreaking road losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Freddie Freeman ended Game 1 in extra innings with the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. The Yankees had a chance to retaliate the following evening, but pinch-hitter Jose Trevino flew out with the bases loaded to end a 4-2 loss at Dodger Stadium.

Trevino will get more chances on Monday night. He's starting at catcher over Austin Wells for the first time since Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. The 2022 All-Star will bat eighth. 

Shortstop Anthony Volpe also moves up to sixth ahead of Anthony Rizzo against Dodgers starter Walker Buehler.

Wells registered a .761 OPS and all 13 of his home runs against right-handed pitchers during his rookie season. The 25-year-old swung a scorching hot bat during the summer, but he batted .111/.217/.194 in September

That slump has carried over into the postseason, where Wells is batting 4-for-41 with 18 strikeouts. He notched one hit (a single) in two World Series starts.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 15: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees looks on during the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on August 15, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Rays won 4-0. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

The Yankees will instead turn to Trevino, a former Platinum Glove winner who can help starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt behind the plate. Yet the 31-year-old slashed .215/.288/.354 during the regular season and has just three plate appearances this postseason.

Aaron Boone benched Wells, but the manager didn't move a reeling Aaron Judge from the No. 3 spot. This year's presumptive AL MVP has struck out three times in each World Series game and has gone the last four games without an extra-base hit.

While it happened to the Yankees 20 years ago, no other team has ever squandered a 3-0 series lead in MLB history. They'll try to avoid that dire scenario when hosting the Dodgers for Game 3, which starts at 8:08 p.m. ET on FOX.

Related: Alex Rodriguez Proposes Yankees Lineup Move To Help Aaron Judge

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