3 changes the Yankees need to make to rebound from crushing Game 1 loss

The New York Yankees suffered about as crushing a loss as you can suffer in Game 1 of the World Series, twice coming within three outs of stealing a huge road win only to suffer a walk-off grand slam at the hands of Freddie Freeman and the Los Angeles Dodgers. All of the flaws fans were afraid of reared their heads, from another quiet night for Aaron Judge to more baffling bullpen management from Aaron Boone.

But as deflating an opener as it was, it was just the opener. There's still a lot of series left, and if any team knows how to bounce back from a postseason gut punch, it's these Yankees. Win in Game 2, and the whole tenor of this series (not to mention home-field advantage) will shift headed back to New York. Here's what Boone and Co. need to change to get it done.

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3. It's time for Jasson Dominguez

You can understand why Boone has ridden with Alex Verdugo as his left fielder to this point. Verdugo is a veteran, someone he can trust under the bright lights of the postseason, and Dominguez's lack of production at the plate (and occasional gaffes in the outfield) toward the end of the regular season hardly inspired confidence.

At this point, though, it's time to make a change. Verdugo has predictably given New York nothing at the plate, adding to the glaring concerns about this lineup's lack of punch outside its first four. And appeals to Verdugo's defense are harder to stomach after he just played a Freddie Freeman line drive into a crucial triple in the first inning of Game 1. Steadiness is all well and good when you're in the driver's seat. With his team's back against the wall, however, Boone is in desperate need of some upside — someone whose bat can swing a game — and that makes Dominguez the choice.

2. Stop trusting Clay Holmes

How many times does this movie have to repeat itself? Holmes was wobbly in the ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians, but still he was the choice to replace Gerrit Cole with a man on in the bottom of the seventh with a one-run lead. Holmes was all over the place, hitting Max Muncy before getting bailed out when Enrique Hernandez laid down a sac bunt and Will Smith swung at the first pitch. New York emerged from that inning unscathed, but Boone should heed the warning: Holmes cannot be trusted in the highest-leverage spots right now, not with this lack of command, and there are other righties in the bullpen (Jake Cousins and Mark Leiter Jr., for two) he'd be better served to bump into the circle of trust instead.

1. Move Aaron Judge down in the lineup

This is the spiciest one, but while Judge deserves the benefit of the doubt based on his track record, the Yankees have to try something here. That's twice now that Juan Soto has been intentionally walked to bring Judge to the plate, and again he failed to come through. Game 1 saw a 1-for-5 effort with three more strikeouts, and he looks awfully far away from the soon-to-be two-time AL MVP: not making pitchers come to him and then missing the rare mistakes he does get. Swapping Judge and Stanton in the lineup would allow the former to hopefully relax a little bit while the latter offers Soto the protection he needs right now.