Yankees move Alex Verdugo into cleanup spot, drop Anthony Rizzo to sixth

MILWAUKEE — Aaron Boone decided it was time to “stir things up” with the Yankees’ batting order, and Alex Verdugo indeed created a stir.

For Saturday night’s game against the Brewers, Boone moved Verdugo, swinging well of late, into the cleanup spot and dropped struggling Anthony Rizzo into the sixth spot.

“Essentially flip him [Verdugo] and Rizz, at least for now,” Boone said before Verdugo validated the move by hitting a three-run homer in the first inning of the Yankees’ 15-3 win.

“Obviously, enjoyed it, right?’’ Verdugo said of batting fourth. “Good success. But really, I think the biggest thing was just controlling my ABs, not trying to do too much. And obviously that fourth spot is a great spot in the lineup to come up with guys on the bases. Today we just got it done.”

Verdugo entered Saturday hitting .256 with three homers and a .783 OPS in 27 games but was 18-for-55 (.327) with two homers, six doubles and 11 runs in his previous 17 games. Rizzo entered Saturday hitting .231 with three homers and a .635 OPS.

“I don’t see a ton different,” Boone said of what he’s seen from Verdugo the last 2 ½ weeks compared to the first 1 ½ weeks. “Obviously, he’s getting some more results now. Because even that first week where he wasn’t getting a lot of results, he was having a lot of big at-bats for us, had a couple of clutch hits for us. Feel like he was kind of trending in that direction and now, as he’s prone to do, once he really gets it going, he can put the ball on the barrel. Like where he’s at right now.”

Said Aaron Judge: “He’s just a complete player. We’ve been looking for a leftfielder that’s lefthanded. He competes every single day, he shows up every single day ready to play, he wants to play every single day. I told him the other day in the outfield that he’s one of the best leftfielders, besides Brett Gardner, that I’ve played with. We have a special group of outfielders here. We’re lucky to have him. I’ve been pushing for quite a long time to try and get him over here and excited to see what he’s doing.”

Although Anthony Volpe has been struggling, one batting order spot Boone isn’t currently thinking about changing is at leadoff. There was a chance that DJ LeMahieu would take over that position upon his return, but even though he was feeling “better” on Saturday, Boone said, LeMahieu currently is shut down from baseball activities after coming out of a rehab assignment game after one at-bat last Tuesday.

After a torrid start, Volpe entered Saturday in a 7-for-43 (.163) slide, lowering his batting average and OPS to .284 and .756.

“Not yet,” Boone said of considering dropping Volpe in the order. “Obviously, we had DJ  kind of waiting in the wings, getting ready to go. That’s slowed now. No plans right now, but I didn’t necessarily have plans of sticking Dugie in that four-hole, so we’ll see how it plays out. I feel like his at-bats have still been in line with where’s he’s been since the start of spring.”

Extra bases

One of the reasons Boone went with Michael Tonkin in the 10th inning on Friday to try to close out the Brewers was because righthander Ian Hamilton was available only in an “emergency” because of “total” body soreness, the manager said. Boone said Hamilton, who has a 3.07 ERA in 10 games, was available Saturday night. Tonkin, claimed on Thursday off waivers from the Mets and activated a day later, allowed a run in the 10th and another in the 11th in the Brewers’ walk-off 7-6 victory . . . Jon Berti, on the injured list with a left groin strain, is slated to begin a rehab assignment Sunday. Boone said he wasn’t sure which minor-league affiliate Berti would join.