The New York Yankees are out West on Friday night to begin a weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ahead of the matchup, New York received some bad news as superstar Aaron Judge heads back to the IL with a calf strain. Yankees manager Aaron Boone also made a few notable changes to his starting lineup for the series opener.
Yankees Announce Paul Goldschmidt Decision
After spending pretty much the entire season in a platoon role and not starting the last time the Yankees played on Wednesday, veteran slugger Paul Goldschmidt is in the lineup Friday, starting at first base and batting leadoff.
He’ll bat in front of Cody Bellinger, Heliot Ramos, and Ben Rice, who will move into the cleanup spot.
Here’s the full Yankees lineup:
Via Underdog MLB: “Yankees 9/18 P. Goldschmidt 1B C. Bellinger LF H. Ramos RF B. Rice DH A. Rosario 3B S. Jones CF G. Lombard Jr. SS A. Wells C A. Volpe 2B G. Cole SP.”
Yankees 9/18
P. Goldschmidt 1B
C. Bellinger LF
H. Ramos RF
B. Rice DH
A. Rosario 3B
S. Jones CF
G. Lombard Jr. SS
A. Wells C
A. Volpe 2BG. Cole SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) September 18, 2026
Goldschmidt’s 2026 Season
In his 16th MLB season and his second as a member of the Yankees, Goldschmidt has appeared in 101 games for New York, and across 332 at-bats, he’s hitting .253 with 42 runs, 84 hits, 18 home runs, and 50 RBIs while slugging .458 and maintaining a .773 OPS.
Looking at the Yankees
New York enters Friday’s contest with the D-backs holding an 88-64 overall record. They sit 5.0 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East division lead and the No. 1 overall seed in the American League.
Currently, the Yankees hold the top Wild Card spot, and if the season ended today, they’d host a best-of-three series at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx against, coincidentally enough, the Boston Red Sox in what would mark a rematch of the 2025 postseason.
New York Yankees Announce Paul Goldschmidt Decision Before Diamondbacks Series