LOS ANGELES — After a day of external second-guessing in Game 1, there was one decision Aaron Boone himself grappled with.
It was not pulling Gerrit Cole after 88 pitches.
It was not bringing in Nestor Cortes, fresh off a flexor strain that had not allowed him to pitch since Sept. 18, to face the Dodgers’ best hitters.
Instead, Boone allowed some reflection on whether he should have stuck with Luke Weaver longer.
Boone went to his best bullpen arm in the eighth inning Friday, with the tying run on third, and Weaver recorded two outs but allowed the run to score.
He then buzzed through the Dodgers’ side in the ninth and had thrown 19 pitches in 1 ²/₃ innings.
“The biggest thing is: Do I send Weave back out there for a third up?” Boone questioned of himself after the Dodgers hit lesser relievers in the Game 1 loss.
But asking Weaver for a third inning on the mound might have taken him out of Game 2, which became a 4-2 loss in which Weaver was not used.
Boone turned to Jake Cousins for the bottom of the Dodgers’ order, which did not work when Cousins walked Gavin Lux and allowed a single to Tommy Edman.
He then brought in Cortes, who did retire Shohei Ohtani. But after an intentional walk to Mookie Betts to load the bases, Freddie Freeman drilled the walkoff grand slam.
Boone had no qualms about turning to Cortes, who he felt had a better chance at striking out Ohtani than Tim Hill, who pitched 1¹/₃ scoreless innings in Saturday’s Game 2 loss.
Boone was more evasive concerning his Cole decision.
The club’s ace allowed one run on four hits without a walk in six-plus innings on 88 pitches.
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He pitched into the seventh, when he got ahead of Teoscar Hernandez, 0-2, then could not finish him off. After two fouls and three balls, Hernandez singled.
According to Boone, that at-bat told him Cole was finished.
“After the long at-bat there and the sequence of at-bats — the five, six leading up to that — I was just like, I knew I had to get him there,” Boone said.
Boone talked with Cole on the mound before calling for Clay Holmes, who hit one batter, allowed a sacrifice bunt and got Will Smith to pop out before Tommy Kahnle took over in a game that taxed the Yankees’ bullpen.
But Boone said he knew when he trotted out to Cole that he would replace the pitcher.
How did he know that Cole, a workhorse, was finished?
“You just have to take my word for it,” Boone said of Cole, who he said is healthy.
The Yankees opted against shaking up their lineup.
Boone continued rolling with an order that was arranged to get his best hitters up as often as possible, which sacrificed some balance.
Giancarlo Stanton remained hitting fourth, behind leadoff hitter Gleyber Torres and No. 3 hitter Aaron Judge.
Three righties were within the first four batters, and only Anthony Volpe represented a righty bat in the final five slots.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts then was more effectively able to get the platoon advantage.
Lefty Anthony Banda replaced Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the seventh after Yamamoto retired Stanton.
Banda induced a flyout from Jazz Chisholm Jr. and hit Anthony Rizzo before Volpe flew out.
Luis Gil will pitch Game 4 against what looks like a Dodgers bullpen game.
The Dodgers announced that Walker Buehler will oppose Clarke Schmidt in Game 3.
Opting for Buehler means he likely would start a Game 7.
Judge was named overall Player of the Year and AL Outstanding Player in balloting for the 2024 Players Choice Awards — the only awards in which the players are selected by their peers.
Judge beat out finalists Shohei Ohtani and Bobby Witt Jr.