The Yankees have been trying to find the right combination to hit on either side of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.
On Tuesday, that responsibility went to two rarely used, right-handed bats — Jahmai Jones and J.D. Davis — and it went about as poorly as possible.
With the Yankees facing Mets lefty Jose Quintana, manager Aaron Boone turned to Jones and Davis, who in turn went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts and a double play in a 3-2 loss in The Bronx.
The Yankees acquired Davis from the Athletics in late June for the purpose of facing left-handers, but he could not get the job done Tuesday.
Batting cleanup behind Aaron Judge, who was walked four times, Davis went 0-for-3 and is now 1-for-16 with eight strikeouts in six games with the Yankees.
“I think Quintana did a good job of slowing him down, speeding him up,” manager Aaron Boone said. “That kind of pull-the-string on you, sneak the heater around the belt and in — he did that a little bit to J.D. Had him out in front a little bit when he changed speeds on him.”
Davis, who was pinch hit for by Ben Rice in the seventh inning, was playing for the first time since July 4 and starting for the first time since July 3.
The Yankees faced a string of lefties just after they acquired him before hardly facing any, and then Davis landed on the IL with a stomach flu ahead of the All-Star break.
Jones, meanwhile, started at DH and hit leadoff for the first time in his big-league career.
He entered the night with good numbers against lefties — batting .350 with a 1.059 OPS in 22 plate appearances versus southpaws this season — but went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts before being pinch hit for by Trent Grisham in the seventh inning.
“The times we’ve put [Jones] in there, he’s given us a lot of really good at-bats, especially mostly getting at-bats against left-handers,” Boone said before the game.
Carlos Narvaez drew his first big-league start on Tuesday night, catching Luis Gil and going 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeouts before being pinch hit for by Austin Wells.
Narvaez had entered Saturday’s game against the Rays as a defensive replacement to make his MLB debut and record his first career hit.
But he was starting behind the plate for the first time on Tuesday to give Wells a breather against Quintana.
“He can really catch,” Boone said. “Smart, really good presence to him, plays the position with a lot of confidence. He’s somebody that I have a lot of confidence in and believe a lot in the person. Excited for him to get back there. He’s caught Luis a lot in his life, so hopefully it’s a good fit.”
Even with the Mets starting another lefty on Wednesday, Wells is expected to be back in the lineup to catch Gerrit Cole.
Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) took more batting practice off a high-velocity pitching machine on Tuesday and also did some running as he continues his ramp-up towards a potential return next week.
Clarke Schmidt (lat) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Tuesday, his second time off the mound since a four-week shutdown.
Jose Trevino (quad) did some light running in the outfield early on Tuesday. … Anthony Rizzo (arm fracture) also did some agility work in the outfield. … Ian Hamilton (lat) is “doing well” in his throwing program, Boone said, but is “still a little ways away from being an option.”