Aaron Boone caught heat for leaving Jazz Chisholm Jr. out of the Yankees’ lineup in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. “I mean, I guess,” Chisholm himself wasn’t shy about voicing frustration. But when Boone put him back in for Game 2, Chisholm showed why he belongs.

He may have gone hitless at the plate (0-for-3), but he flashed with a clutch defensive play and then scored the go-ahead run from first in the eighth inning. The Yankees pulled off a late 4-3 comeback over the Red Sox to keep their season alive. And now with that momentum, Boone just dropped his latest update ahead of the win-or-go-home series finale.

“Jazz will be playing. I haven’t decided on my catcher, first base, all that.”

Expectedly, after what Chisholm has shown in Game 2, Boone will not play riskily in dropping him for the series decider. However, his lineup conflict is something worth discussing.

The catcher spot doesn’t seem like much of an issue right now. Austin Wells in Game 2 says why! He showed the clutch hit the Yankees were searching for, ripping that two-out line drive down the right-field line in the eighth. So shaking things up there could be a risky move for Boone.

First base, though, is where the real dilemma lies.

Boone usually leans on Paul Goldschmidt against lefties. After all, he has hit .336 with 7 HRs and 16 RBIs in 168 plate appearances against them this season. But then there’s Ben Rice, who in Game 2 crushed the Yankees’ only homer of the night and drove in two runs while going 1-for-4.

“Obviously, Benny’s swinging the bat so well, especially here down the stretch. So yeah, he makes it tough,” Boone acknowledges the dilemma.

But meanwhile, what about the equation between Chisholm and his skipper?

All is well between Boone and Chisholm

While Boone took a lot of heat for dropping Chisholm from Game 1, it was Chisholm’s animated response that stirred up everything right between the two.

After Game 1, Chisholm didn’t hold back his feelings. In a typical Chisholm style, he spoke to reporters and admitted he was frustrated by Aaron Boone’s decision to keep him out of the lineup against lefty Garrett Crochet. But just a night later, after making a key defensive play and scoring the winning run in Game 2, the tone surrounding Chisholm and Boone feels very different.

When asked directly if things were fine between him and his manager, Chisholm gave a thoughtful answer. “There was never a problem between me and Aaron Boone. He’s been my manager all year, and I’ve stood behind him all year.”

That’s a strong stance to put any tension to rest, and later, Boone’s confirmation made things even clearer. “I didn’t sense there was an extra chip, like I don’t think it was anything like that if there was. Yeah. I think it can be a good thing for a certain person,” Boone shared.

For the Yankees, that’s no small detail. Because they’ll need Chisholm’s speed, energy, and defensive reliability in what is projected to be an intense Game 3.

Now, the only thing to watch before the series decider is how Boone manages the lineup conflict and shapes up the history-making Wild Card showdown.