Aaron Boone, manager of the New York Yankees, has no plans to replace veteran third baseman Josh Donaldson even though he has had trouble getting going in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros.
Donaldson was able to reach base twice in Game 2 of the series after striking out in all three of his at-bats in Game 1 of the series. He slugged a double in the second inning and extended the game in the ninth inning with a two-out walk. He has overall hit.227 in the current postseason, but he also has a.393 OBP.
The fact that Donaldson is reaching base at a rate that is close to “40 percent clip” is one of the reasons that Boone still has full faith in the former American League MVP Award winner, even though there are other options available at the third base position.
Boone remarked during a press conference on Friday, “It’s ironic that everyone jumps on him as we struggle for offence, period.” “I mean, for all his issues, his, quote, struggles, he’s on at a 40% clip in the postseason so far. So, we require him. He must do a significant feat for this series. We must start that process.
“But everyone experiences that. We must find ways to score runs because we are up against a fantastic pitching staff from top to bottom. These include being able to reach base safely, getting a big hit, and really sticking it when we make a mistake. No plans there, then.
As Boone mentioned, not just Donaldson has had a fair share of subpar performances in the ALCS matchup with the Astros. Through two games of the series, Yankees hitters have struck out a total of 30 times.
In Game 3 on Saturday, the Yankees will try to tie the series up once more.
The article Why Josh Donaldson has Aaron Boone’s support despite the Yankees’ ALCS troubles originally published on ClutchPoints.
