Aaron Boone tries to find balance with Alex Verdugo and Jason Dominguez

Speaking about the organization’s top prospect, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Jason Dominguez will play “a lot.”

Boone did not say Dominguez would play every day.

The Yankees are trying to find balance with Dominguez, Alex Verdugo and most of their outfield/DH lineup, with Dominguez set to miss Friday night for the second time in three games.

Alex Verdugo (left) celebrates with Aaron Judge (center) and Juan Soto after the Yankees’ 5-4 victory over the Red Sox on Sept. 13, 2024. Paintings by Vincent Carchietta

Verdugo got the start in left field against Boston right-hander Richard Fitts (who was inserted after right-hander Tanner Houck was struck out) and took one of the biggest walks in the game. Verdugo played alongside Aaron Judge in center field and Juan Soto in right field, with Giancarlo Stanton as the designated hitter.

Boone said he expected Stanton to sit, Judge to be the DH and Dominguez to play Saturday afternoon. He’s trying to find time for everyone, including Verdugo.

“We wanted Dugie to stay in the game,” Boone said of Verdugo, who continued to show positive signs during the Yankees’ 5-4 win over the Red Sox in the Bronx.

Since Dominguez was called up Monday, Verdugo and Dominguez have each played three times. It’s becoming clear that Verdugo’s playing time is being reduced, not eliminated.

After a difficult June, July and August, Verdugo safely got on base in 10 games in September, in which he posted a .286 average.

Verdugo did not allow a single hit on Friday, but did collect a key walk that sparked the Yankees’ run in the seventh inning.

Jason Dominguez did not play in the Yankees’ victory over the Red Sox on September 13, 2024. Jason Szenes for the New York Post.

He was losing 0-2 to Zack Kelly.

Verdugo made a mistake while bouncing the ball and then had to throw four more balls.

Three strokes later, Judge scored the deciding grand slam.

“He’s had some good at-bats here for a couple of weeks now,” Boone said of Verdugo. “That (at-bat), at that point, especially before what Aaron did, was one of the most important in the inning.”

Dominguez, a 21-year-old with a ton of potential who has started in 12 games, has gone 2-for-10 since being called up, including a walk, two singles and four strikeouts.

Dominguez is a ambidextrous player, but is much stronger on the left side.

“We just wanted the players to play, be active and keep their rhythm as best as they could,” Boone said of his juggling act.

DJ LeMahieu, who went on the injured list Monday with a right hip contusion, received a cortisone shot Thursday, the Yankees said.

The team will wait a few days before re-evaluating the infielder.

Clarke Schmidt, who allowed two runs (on a two-run homerun by Masataka Yoshida) in 5 ²/₃ innings, is the third pitcher in Yankees history to allow three or fewer runs in each of his first 13 starts of a season.

Schmidt’s ERA is 2.41.

About an hour before first pitch, the Red Sox announced that Fitts would be making his second career start because Houck was experiencing shoulder fatigue.

The right-handed pitcher, a sixth-round pick by the Yankees in the 2021 draft who was included in the offseason trade that acquired Verdugo, held the Yankees off for five innings, allowing two hits and three walks.

Right-handed prospect Clayton Beeter, who returned last week from a shoulder injury that sidelined him since mid-May, was reassigned from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Beeter pitched three scoreless innings and recorded five strikeouts in two appearances for Somerset.