CLEVELAND -- Sensing that Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been playing tentatively through the first three games of the American League Division Series, manager Aaron Boone benched his starting shortstop on Sunday before the Yankees' 4-2 win over the Guardians at Progressive Field that forced a decisive Game 5 on Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

“I feel like he’s been pressing out there this whole series a little bit defensively to not make a mistake,” Boone said on Sunday. “I talked to him, and my message was, ‘Look, you’re going to play a big role in this. Hopefully, we’re playing a couple of more weeks here.’”

Instead, rookie Oswaldo Cabrera drew the starting assignment at shortstop, with Aaron Hicks making his first start of this postseason in left field. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Cabrera is the first player to start a postseason game at shortstop with his team facing elimination after having fewer than 30 career MLB innings at the position.

The Yankees have frequently cited internal numbers that paint Kiner-Falefa as one of the league’s better defensive shortstops, explaining their preference to continue starting him at the position over rookie Oswald Peraza, their No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline who was left off the ALDS roster.

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“It’s not like we’re trying to convince a crappy player to play well out there,” Boone said. “[Kiner-Falefa] has all the skill sets to be really good out there.”

One rival American League scout recently explained that the Yankees’ internal numbers may be skewed because Kiner-Falefa makes an above-average number of high-difficulty plays, but he struggles at times to make routine plays on balls hit directly at him.

That was the case in Saturday’s Game 3, when Kiner-Falefa missed plays that he said “cost us the game.” Kiner-Falefa did not field Josh Naylor’s first-inning RBI single, made a poor throw to first base on Andrés Giménez’s infield hit and tossed nonchalantly on Myles Straw’s ninth-inning bloop hit, permitting an extra base.

“I’m just disappointed in myself,” Kiner-Falefa said after Game 3. “I feel like I had an opportunity to come up with some key plays tonight and help the team win. I wasn’t able to come up with them.”

Said Boone: “There were a few plays where I felt like that free and easy athletic thing he does, he’s gotten in his way a little bit. He made the error right away in Game 1, and then I just feel like he hasn’t moved at a couple balls like we would normally see him move at. Part of it comes from a great place; he wants to do well and not let anyone down. But that can get in your way a little bit, too.”

Kiner-Falefa finished the regular season with a minus-2 Outs Above Average, tied for 23rd among 37 qualified shortstops. Boone said that he had not decided if Kiner-Falefa would start at shortstop in the event of a Game 5 on Monday at Yankee Stadium.

“We’ll see,” Boone said. “I wouldn’t put any expectation on it.”