Even as Josh Donaldson has struggled to get going in the New York Yankees' ALCS clash against the Houston Astros, manager Aaron Boone currently has no plans to move him out of the starting third base role.
After striking out in all three of his at-bats in Game 1 of the series, Donaldson was able to reach base twice in Game 2, as he slugged a double in the second inning and extended the contest in the ninth inning via a two-out walk. Overall, he has hit .227 and holds a .393 OBP through seven postseason games played this year.
Even as Boone has other options for the third base position, the fact that Donaldson is reaching base at a near “40 percent clip” in the postseason is one reason why he still has his full trust in the one-time American League MVP Award winner.
“As we struggle for offense, period, it's interesting that everyone jumps on him,” Boone said during a press conference on Friday. “I mean, he's got on at a 40 percent clip in the postseason so far for all his struggles, his, quote, struggles. So we need him. We need him to do something big within this series. We need to get that rolling.
“But that's with everyone. We're up against a great pitching staff top to bottom and we got to find ways to score runs, and that comes in obviously the ability to get on base, also a big hit, and also when we get that mistake really sticking it. So, no, no plans there. … But he's also gotten a lot of big hits for us, and we got to continue to trust that he's going to, he's got a chance to change a game for us and really produce one of those heavy at-bats in what we hope is a long line of those.”
As Boone touched on, it is not just Donaldson who has had a fair share of struggles in the ALCS against the Astros. Yankees hitters have struck out a combined 30 times through two contests in the series.
The Yankees now have an eye on getting back in the series in Game 3 on Saturday.
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