Yanks' lineup shuffle prompts 4 walks to Judge, then decisive K

NEW YORK -- It has been 27 summers since Interleague play became a regular event on our calendars, and in one of those hard-to-believe nuggets of trivia, no Mets or Yankees player had ever walked four times in a Subway Series game -- that is, until Aaron Judge did it on Tuesday evening.

The Yankees’ captain boasts an excellent eye, but the reasons behind that statistical note go deeper. With J.D. Davis batting behind Judge, the visitors made a conscious effort to avoid the Majors’ home run leader, then challenged him for a crucial ninth-inning showdown in the Bombers’ 3-2 loss at Yankee Stadium.

“I wouldn’t mind that [four-walk] day if it comes with a win,” Judge said. “It’s part of it. It’s a team game. Even if I went 4-for-4 today, we still might not win. So it’s just about, if I get a pitch to hit, I’ve got to do some damage on it.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s lineup prompted questions during the early afternoon hours, with Jahmai Jones residing in the leadoff spot and Davis -- who hadn’t logged a big league at-bat since July 4 due to a dearth of opposing left-handed starters and a brief stint on the injured list -- assigned to bat fourth.

Boone explained that his choices were made to “give some of our lefties a day” and stack the lineup with right-handed bats against Mets southpaw Jose Quintana, adding that Davis would bat fourth because “it’s the reason we brought him here” when Davis was acquired from the Athletics on June 23.

The new-look order yielded little support for right-hander Luis Gil, who spun five innings of one-run ball, his third consecutive encouraging start after a trio of rough efforts. Gleyber Torres hit a second-inning homer and Alex Verdugo stroked a run-scoring double in the sixth.

Jones went hitless in three at-bats before being pinch-hit for in the seventh inning, and the Mets refused to give in to Judge, walking him three times ahead of Davis. In those at-bats, Davis struck out, grounded into a double play and struck out again.

“Quintana did a good job of slowing him down, speeding him up,” Boone said. “I thought Quintana was on his game tonight.”

Said Quintana: “I know how hot [Judge] is right now, and I’ll take my chances to face Davis. … I think the big challenge was to get Soto out before that and get more room to pitch to Judge."

Asked if he was surprised the Mets pitched around Judge to get to Davis, Boone replied: “No. Different teams, different approaches.”

Boone said that the Yankees hope to “get that middle of the batting order more settled” in the coming days; Giancarlo Stanton’s return from the injured list would certainly help.

By the seventh inning, the Yanks were down by a run thanks to Jeff McNeil’s go-ahead homer off Michael Tonkin. Judge was walked intentionally in the seventh inning ahead of pinch-hitter Ben Rice, who flied out.

“He passed the baton for us,” Torres said, “and we missed those opportunities.”

The Yankees had their last chance in the ninth. Soto worked a four-pitch walk against lefty Jake Diekman, and as a group of Mets fans behind the third-base dugout howled for their club to walk Judge a fifth time, it was instead decided that they must challenge.

"You saw it. There's going to be situations where we're going to go after him,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Diekman started the at-bat with a 95.9 mph fastball over the heart of the plate, perhaps surprising Judge, who’d seen little worth swinging at all night.

“After four straight balls to Soto, [the mindset is to] see a pitch, see where he's at with his command,” Judge said. “And then from there, go to work.”

Two changeups followed, one out of the strike zone and the next fouled into the seats.

After another pitch out of the zone, Diekman delivered a picture-perfect 96 mph strike on the inside corner, freezing Judge.

“He paints one on the corner there 2-2; it’s a tough one, but I’ve got to be ready for it,” Judge said.

Rice then grounded out, saddling the Yankees with their third Subway Series loss to the Mets this year, and their 21st defeat in 31 games overall.

“Today we didn’t get the win, but we’ve got to move on,” Judge said. “We’ve got another big one tomorrow.”