PHILADELPHIA — The Yankees brought Amed Rosario back to be a lefty killer, and through the first two months of the season, he was.
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In the past two months, though, it’s the lefties that have done the killing against the Yankees utility player.
Still — in part because the Yankees are beat up and are now without three of their better hitters against lefties in Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton — Rosario hit third again Sunday night against Phillies southpaw Cristopher Sánchez in an 11-4 loss in the series finale at Citizens Bank Park.
“If you watch the at-bats, especially against lefties, I know the numbers haven’t been there, but he’s having the right at-bats, he’s just going through it a little bit,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Amed Rosario, pictured during a Yankees game July 17, has struggled against left-handed pitching recently. Getty Images
In 50 plate appearances against lefties through May 26, Rosario was hitting .273 with an .888 OPS.
But in 56 plate appearances against lefties since then, entering Sunday, he was batting just .135 with a .408 OPS.
That included being in a 1-for-17 slump entering Sunday’s game.
Rosario was 1-for-4 in the loss with a pair of strikeouts before being lifted for pinch hitter Ryan McMahon in the ninth.
Rosario has continued to be a staple in the top third of Yankees lineups against most lefties despite the lack of results, though they are not overflowing with options to replace him.
The 30-year-old did still have an average exit velocity of 90.3 mph and an 11.1 percent barrel rate, both of which ranked in the top half of the league and gave the Yankees some hope that he was capable of getting back on track.
“He’s on stuff and is presenting like a guy that’s going to impact against lefties,” Boone said. “He’s just, on a smaller level, hasn’t gotten results. But doesn’t change my confidence that he will moving forward.”
Judge and Stanton are expected to travel to Chicago with the Yankees this week for their series against the White Sox and Cubs.
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“We’ll have some of our trainer guys that go on the road, we’ll be able to do that,” Boone said.
Cross Shea Langeliers off the list of potential catchers the Yankees could acquire at the trade deadline.
The Athletics placed the backstop on the injured list Sunday with a torn meniscus, which could cost him the rest of the season.
Langeliers, under contract through 2028, was going to be tough to land, but now his injury has essentially ruled out any trade involving him.
Clarke Schmidt (Tommy John surgery) faced hitters for the second time Sunday at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, continuing his ramp-up toward a rehab assignment. … Max Fried will start Monday’s series opener against the White Sox, giving Gerrit Cole an extra day of rest before starting Tuesday after both had thrown in Wednesday’s doubleheader.
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