Aaron Boone had his bullpen lined up just the way he wanted it for Sunday’s series finale against the Angels.
As the Yankees tried to hold on to a two-run lead in the seventh and David Robertson on the mound, Aroldis Chapman could be seen throwing in the pen. Chad Green got up twice during the game, but didn’t pitch.
In the end, Boone went with Robertson for the seventh, Dellin Betances for the eighth and Chapman closed it.
Afterward, the manager made it clear Betances was his preferred eighth-inning choice going forward — and that Chapman was just playing catch in the seventh.
As for Betances, expect to see him in the eighth consistently.
“More often than not, hopefully we’ll see him in that spot,’’ Boone said of the right-hander, who has battled control issues at times each of the past two years. “Struggles are part of it. I think Dellin is through that. He pitched really well for us.”
Betances responded. He walked Zack Cozart to start the eighth, but got Mike Trout to ground to short before Andrelton Simmons hit into a double play.
“I didn’t want to walk the first guy there, so I had to attack [Trout] with my best stuff,’’ Betances said. “I feed off those situations. I enjoy facing the best guys in the game and he’s been the best player in the game for quite some time now. I was looking forward to that matchup if it happened. I was on the good side there.”
In his last five appearances, Betances has given up just one run in six innings. He’s also walked just one, while striking out eight.
“My mindset is strong,’’ Betances said. “I feel my pitches are there. … I feel good. Every time I go out there, I feel like my stuff is playing really well.”
Gleyber Torres wasn’t in the starting lineup for just the second time since being called up from the minors on April 22. Boone said the second baseman “banged up” his left knee diving for a ball Friday. That, coupled with the fact Sunday was a day game after a night game, played into Boone’s decision to put Neil Walker at second, but Torres entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning and flied out in the bottom of the inning.
The 21-year-old said he was OK.
Greg Bird got his first hit of the season Sunday, a second-inning single to center, after missing nearly two months while rehabbing from ankle surgery. He also took a pitch off his elbow guard to knock in a run in a three-run third.
“I felt awesome today,’’ said Bird, who went 0-for-4 Saturday. “That’s honest. I’m right where I need to be … The first [hit] is always good.”
Still mired in a slump, Didi Gregorius made a fine play at shortstop on Martin Maldonado’s game-ending grounder to short. He also went 0-for-3 with a walk and has just four hits in his last 70 at-bats.
“We’ll try to get him right,’’ Boone said. “He’s too good a player, too good a hitter, for it to go on too much longer. He’s not impacting [the ball] like we normally see. It’s a blip on the radar.”
Aaron Judge’s third inning single was measured by Statcast at 119.9 mph, the hardest hit in the majors this season. … Lefty Ryan Hollinger was optioned to Double-A Trenton.
