Hicks batting 9th is like ‘double leadoff ’

CHICAGO — Over his last 10 games Aaron Hicks has struggled something fierce, and for Friday night’s game against the White Sox he found himself dropped to the No. 9 spot in the lineup.

He had not been at the bottom of the batting order since 2017.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said it wasn’t punishment or taking the pressure off the struggling outfielder. Instead, he sees Hicks’ on-base percentage as something the team can take advantage of while he finds his power. Hicks is among the best in the league at drawing walks with an 18% walk rate.

“The one thing Aaron’s doing really well right now is still getting on base,” Boone said before Friday’s game. “To have that on-base presence on the nine hole is something I value and can serve as a double leadoff hitter.”

Hello again: After just one start in the minors, Clarke Schmidt was back with the Yankees on Friday. The right-hander took the spot left after the Yankees optioned spot starter Luis Gil to Triple A.

Schmidt began the season with the Yankees, made four appearances and pitched to a 1.08 ERA with eight strikeouts over 8 innings pitched. He was sent to Triple A on May 1 when the rosters were cut from 28 to 26. The plan at the time was to stretch him out as a starter.

He went 2 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out three in his only start.

“It’s a little bit of an environmental change, but yeah, it was good to get my pitch count up,” Schmidt said. “That was my main goal going down there . ... I did like close to 50 (pitches) in my last start, so I would assume I’m available for around 70 or 80, whenever needed. So yeah, it’s very good to get that in.”

Gil gave the Yankees four innings Thursday night, but the Bombers had to send him back to replenish their bullpen with Schmidt.

Rortvedt update: Ben Rortvedt, the catcher the Yankees acquired from the Twins, has been shut down with a knee issue. Boone said they are trying to figure out what exactly it is.

“We’re kind of trying to get our heads wrapped around that,” Boone said. “He just caught the other day and then the knee was kind of catching on him a little bit. So we’ve got to see.”

Boone said he expects tests to be done soon.