Is it time for the Yankees to make a lineup change?

The Yankees walked off the field triumphant on Tuesday. They'd held the 92-win Guardians at bay for the second straight day, taking a commanding 2-0 series lead and drawing to within two wins of their first pennant since 2009.

But that doesn't mean it's all sunshine and rainbows for the AL's top seed. Their cleanup hitter, catcher Austin Wells, is hitless in his last 19 at-bats and has managed just four hits in the past month. And six-hole hitter Jazz Chisholm Jr. is 3-for-23 this postseason with just one walk.

With southpaw Matthew Boyd confirmed to start Game 3 , there will likely be no more obvious time this series to give one of the two struggling lefties a day off. Wells could give way to Jose Trevino, the Platinum Glover whose role diminished this season due to injuries but whose career .697 OPS against lefties dwarfs Wells' .485 mark. For Chisholm, potential replacements include the switch-hitting Oswaldo Cabrera and the right-handed Jon Berti, both of whom drew starts at first in the ALDS and performed convincingly on both sides of the ball.

But, with the team rolling as a whole, would manager Aaron Boone and the Yankees' decision-makers consider benching one of their starters mid-series? Both Wells and Chisholm started against Cole Ragans, a much tougher lefty than Boyd, in the first round, so the decision could not be couched as purely dependent on platoon splits. For his part, Wells has looked sharp defensively and has helped guide the Yankees' staff to a 2.50 ERA this postseason, by far the best of the four remaining teams. He also had his best at-bat in some time his last time up on Tuesday, a nine-pitch battle with Hunter Gaddis that drew post-game praise from Boone and ended in a hard-hit lineout.

Even so, the current buzz is that Trevino will take over for Wells with Boyd on the mound. As good as Wells has been behind the plate, the Yankees shouldn't suffer any drop-off going to Trevino's glove should they go with him for Game 3.

As for Chisholm, while he's been overzealous on a couple of plays to his left, Chisholm's arm has been a weapon at third base throughout the postseason. Furthermore, his antagonism towards the Royals in the ALDS became a focal point for his teammates, who've praised the energy he brings on a daily basis.

If both Wells and Chisholm remain in the starting lineup, a less drastic measure the team could take would be to drop one (or both) of them down in the order. This could mean bumping up the red-hot Giancarlo Stanton to cleanup and, in doing so, breaking up the alternation of lefties and righties that currently defines the lineup. While Boone has been reticent to take that measure against righties, he's expressed a willingness to do so against lefties — though it is worth noting that Cleveland skipper Stephen Vogt hasn't hesitated to remove Boyd from ballgames early, so any advantage may be brief.

Another option would be to elevate one of the Yankees' other lefties in Wells' or Chisholm's stead. Anthony Rizzo and Alex Verdugo have batted eighth and ninth in each of the series' first two games. After missing the first round with two broken fingers, Rizzo is 3-for-7 with a walk so far this series and carries with him 51 games of playoff experience, tops on the team. And Verdugo, who was employed at cleanup more than any other Yankee this season, is 5-for-20 with three walks this postseason, rebounding nicely after posting a .606 OPS in the second half and nearly losing his starting job to rookie Jasson Domínguez. Moving either of these veterans up in the order would take pressure of their younger and less experienced teammates, who have looked to be pressing at times in their first extended postseason opportunities.

Regardless of how Aaron Boone writes out his lineup card, the focal points of the Yankees' lineup will remain Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Stanton. Tinkering with a lineup that's done enough to secure five wins in six playoff games carries with it risks. So, too, does standing pat and taking a two-game series lead for granted. In a postseason that's largely gone according to script, Boone and the Yankees' front office will have to decide if this is the time for a shake-up.