HOUSTON — Aaron Boone is shaking up his roster again for Game 2 of the ALCS.
Harrison Bader will start against Astros left-hander Framber Valdez, rookie Oswald Peraza will make his first playoff start at shortstop and Oswaldo Cabrera will return to left field Thursday night at Minute Maid Park.
Peraza was added to the ALCS roster after being dropped from the ALDS roster and only appeared as a pinch runner in Game 1. With him starting Game 2, Isiah Kiner-Falefa will return to the bench after starting Game 1 and recovering one of the Yankees’ five hits. But Kiner-Falefa had been benched in the last two ALDS games after some defensive struggles.
Bader had finished ninth and then seventh in the first six games of the playoffs, but rose to the top of the roster by smashing four home runs, including one in Game 1 against Justin Verlander.
Cabrera, meanwhile, returns to left field for the first time since Game 3 of the ALDS after starting the last two games of this series at shortstop.
Kyle Higashioka will also catch Luis Severino as the Yankees try to even the series before returning to the Bronx.
