Aaron Boone pinch-hits for Spencer Jones against tough lefty despite promising early splits

In the small sample size of 29 plate appearances, Spencer Jones has gone 8-for-25 with two home runs, two doubles, a triple and a 1.134 OPS against left-handed pitching. The lefty slugger will have to prove more to remain in the game when matched up with particularly tough southpaws.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.In a one-run game in the eighth inning Thursday, manager Aaron Boone lifted Jones for righty-hitting Heliot Ramos against Seattle lefty José Ferrer, who is one of the game’s best relievers at neutralizing lefty hitters. “That’s one of the reasons we brought Heliot Ramos in was his presence against [lefties],” Boone said of the trade-deadline pickup, who grounded out and has not started well with the Yankees (2-for-25). Boone said he did not consider leaving Jones, who had a strong game Wednesday but went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Thursday’s 1-0 loss, in to face Ferrer.

Entering play, Ferrer held fellow lefties to a .553 OPS with zero home runs in 109 plate appearances while righties (.913 OPS with five home runs) have crushed him. In that way, Boone said Ferrer is “unique” because he has “really struggled with right-handed hitters.” This was the type of scenario GM Brian Cashman may have envisioned in acquiring the former Giant, Ramos entering the at-bat hitting .271 with a .795 OPS against southpaws, and became Boone’s choice over Jones and Paul Goldschmidt. For one August game, it didn’t work. After going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored Wednesday, George Lombard Jr.was moved up to fifth in the lineup and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

He had batted from sixth through ninth in his first seven major league games. Boone downplayed the ascension, chalking it up to his “obsession with trying to create a little balance.” The righty swinger hit between lefties Luis García Jr.and Jazz Chisholm Jr.

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