With the season on the line, Yankees manager Aaron Boone left the door open for making a lineup change or two — or perhaps none at all — in Game 3 of the ALDS. 

The Blue Jays will hand the ball to right-hander Shane Bieber, who has reverse splits this season in a limited sample size since coming back from Tommy John surgery in August.

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In another small sample size, Paul Goldschmidt is 3-for-6 in his career against Bieber, making it possible the veteran first baseman entering the lineup Tuesday was one of the moves the Yankees were contemplating. 

“We’ll see,” Boone said Monday at Yankee Stadium. “That’s something I’ll kind of work through here the rest of the day and try to have my decision by this evening where I’ll send [the lineup] out. Could be one or two [changes], but it could very well be the same too.” 

Inserting Goldschmidt likely would mean Ben Rice heading to the bench.

The left-handed slugger crushed a two-run homer in Game 2 against the Red Sox, but has struggled some since then, striking out seven times in 12 plate appearances over his past three games.

The last two came against the first two Blue Jays starters, Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage, righties who give lefties trouble with their splitters.

Boone had considered starting Goldschmidt in Game 2, but ultimately stuck with Rice because of the threat he is to change the game with one swing. 

Right-handed hitters are batting .297 with a .936 OPS against Bieber this season while left-handed hitters are batting just .156 with a .434 OPS. The veteran has had more neutral splits over the course of his career. 

“Then you also have some consideration to what they have in the bullpen, how you space things out a little bit,” Boone said. 

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the team is looking into whether reliever Seranthony Domínguez was tipping his pitches in Game 2.

Aaron Judge was on second base and appeared to be touching his helmet at times before Domínguez pitched to Rice, though it also is possible Judge was bluffing in an attempt to throw Domínguez off. 

“You’ve got to do a good job of being clean, being tight,” Schneider said. “It’s part of the game, part of the game everywhere. We’ll look at it and make any adjustments we need to make and just try to keep them off second.” 

The last time the Blue Jays played at Yankee Stadium in September, Schneider indicated the Yankees were relaying pitches to their hitter from second base and said, “Major League Baseball knows the Yankees are good when they got something.” 

“I meant that in a way that that’s not the only time they’re good,” Schneider said Monday. “They’re really good. But if you have a tell, they’re really good at exposing it is what I meant to say. As are a lot of teams. So I think that you have to be aware of it. You have to be able to make some adjustments along the way.” 

Goldschmidt, Rice, José Caballero, Jasson Domínguez, Amed Rosario and J.C. Escarra were the Yankees position players who worked out on the field Monday, taking fly balls, ground balls and/or batting practice.

Carlos Rodón and Cam Schlittler also threw, while some other Yankees were inside to get treatment. 

“Mostly, guys will treat it like an off-day to kind of reset, give your mind a blow, give your body a blow,” Boone said. “But that looks a lot of different ways for everyone.” 

Judge was named a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award, honoring the most outstanding regular-season offensive performer in each league.

He won the award in 2022 and 2024.