Jose Caballero starts at short again, Yankees' Friday lineup at Nationals

[ASFN Admin]

If there’s any carryover from Thursday’s 12-run outburst, maybe it stems from one at-bat.

Ryan McMahon’s 12-pitch sequence versus Rays starter Drew Rasmussen unlocked a six-run third inning, allowing the Yankees some desperately needed breathing room during a brutal stretch.

Even with their recent struggles, “I feel like we’ve had really good energy all week,’’ manager Aaron Boone said of his club, after splitting that important four-game set at Tampa Bay.

And on Thursday afternoon, “they struck a really good balance between being dialed in, energy, having fun, but playing like there’s a lot on the line.’’

We’ll see if they can build on that momentum Friday night at Washington, with Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.29) opposing fellow lefty Carson Palmquist at 6:45 p.m.

One further benefit from Thursday’s 12-4 win, a bullpen game for the Yanks, is that Boone did not have to use top setup man Fernando Cruz or closer David Bednar.

Of note tonight, Jose Caballero is making his fourth start at shortstop in five games on this road trip, with Anthony Volpe on the bench.

Here is the Yankees' lineup Friday night vs. the Nationals:

1. Amed Rosario, 3B
2. Ben Rice, DH
3. Trent Grisham, CF
4. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
5. Cody Bellinger, LF
6. Jasson Dominguez, RF
7. Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B
8. Jose Caballero, SS
9. Austin Wells, C

And here is the Nationals' lineup:

1. James Wood, RF
2. Curtis Mead, 3B
3. Dylan Crews, LF
4. CJ Abrams, SS
5. Jacob Young, CF
6. Andres Chaparro, DH
7. Nasim Nunez, 2B
8. Luis Garcia Jr., 1B
9. Keibert Ruiz, C

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Jose Caballero starts at short again, Yankees' Friday lineup at Nationals

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