Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton knows he still has work to do – The Denver Post

As Giancarlo Stanton took the first pitch of his eighth inning at-bat for a strike on Sunday, Aaron Boone leaned toward his bench coach.

“I like that,” the manager excitedly told Carlos Mendoza.

The call went against Stanton, but the Yerry Rodriguez slider was low in the zone. With Stanton struggling mightily, Boone was happy to see the slugger showing patience. Stanton did so again on the next pitch, another slider that dipped below the zone.

One more take, on a borderline heater called for a ball, set Stanton up for an RBI single. That provided a welcomed insurance run in the Yankees’ 5-3, series-winning victory over the first-place Rangers.

“Hopefully we can build on that,” Boone said of Stanton, who entered Sunday’s game with just six hits and two RBI in his last 55 at-bats. “Obviously, we know when he gets going how much of a problem he is for the opposition.”

Stanton agreed that the plate appearance – particularly the pitches he didn’t pull the trigger on – was encouraging.

“Good takes, you can build off of that,” he said. “But it’s a results-based place, so just gotta figure out how to do it.”

Results have been hard to come by for Stanton this season, as he’s hitting just .191/.252/.391 with six home runs, 14 RBI and a 73 wRC+. He’s struck out 33 times in 30 games.

Stanton’s slash line has been even worse since returning from a hamstring injury on June 2: he’s hitting .121/.215/.241 in 17 games over that stretch.

Which is why he didn’t show much interest in hyping up his only hit on Sunday.

“No, I got a lot to do,” Stanton said when asked if the single took some weight off his shoulders. “So it’s good for now, but that doesn’t clear it for me.”

Stanton is far from the only Yankee hitter who’s been scuffling since Aaron Judge, out indefinitely, hurt his toe on June 3. Highly paid veterans Anthony Rizzo and DJ LeMahieu are batting well below the Mendoza Line since then, while Josh Donaldson has hit an even .100.

Rizzo has started to find success, hitting .310 over his last nine games despite going 0-for-3 with a walk on Sunday. LeMahieu, meanwhile, picked up a much-needed two-run double in the win after spending a few days on the bench last week.

Donaldson sat for the third consecutive game.

As a whole, the Yankees are hitting just .197 with a .260 OPB, 56 runs scored, 53 RBI and a 66 wRC+ since June 4. As of Monday morning, those were the worst numbers in baseball over that stretch.

Their .347 slugging percentage was second-worst.

Judge’s injury has come up frequently in scrums with the Yankees’ underachieving hitters, but Stanton said he didn’t know if the reigning MVP’s absence is putting pressure on the Bombers’ offense.

Either way, he expects more of himself.

“I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do regardless of who’s on the field, regardless of anything,” Stanton added. “So just keep working.”

The Yankees have talked about LeMahieu needing to fix his load at the plate, and hitting coach Dillon Lawson recently identified Stanton’s timing as an issue.

But asked Sunday if he has been working on anything in particular, Stanton preferred to avoid specifics.

“Be better,” he said. “That’s what I’m working on.”

A former MVP himself, Stanton was then asked why it’s been so hard for him to get going.

Once again, he offered a succinct response.

“Anything would be an excuse,” he said, “so nothing.”

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