PHILADELPHIA — Giancarlo Stanton returned to the New York Yankees lineup after missing 28 games and Jazz Chisholm Jr. made his first professional start at third base, giving manager Aaron Boone a hopeful boost ahead of Monday night’s season opener against Philadelphia.
Judge hit his 38th home run in the first inning, tying him for the most runs in the Major League, and Chisholm and rookie Ben Rice added solo hits in the second inning against Zack Wheeler.
“You see that light and you feel like you can dream of what we’re capable of,” Boone said before the game. “I feel like it’s a very confident group, even through some of the dark days that we’ve been through. I feel like this is a team that has a chance to do something special. That’s still there for us.”
Judge swept and tied Mickey Mantle with 14 first-inning home runs in 1961, giving him the second-most after Babe Ruth with 16 home runs in 1927.
A day after making his Yankees debut in Boston, Chisholm hit a home run to left field, prompting chants of “Let’s go Yankees!” from another packed house at Citizens Bank Park.
The 26-year-old Chisholm, a 2022 All-Star second baseman, was acquired from Miami on Saturday. Wearing uniform No. 13, he went 1 for 5 with a single and scored a late run in the Yankees’ 8-2 win on Sunday.
Chisholm took over at third base for DJ LeMahieu and hit .176 with a .490 OPS.
“I think he has all the skills and capabilities to handle it,” Boone said. “There may be some growing pains that we have to go through. We have to live with that.”
Boone said Chisholm wasn’t necessarily the regular third baseman.
Stanton played for the first time since tearing his left hamstring while running the bases on June 22. New York finished 10-18, with Stanton on the injured list for the eighth time in six years.
The 34-year-old had played in 69 of the Yankees’ first 79 games — none in the field — and entered Monday batting .246 with 18 homers and 45 RBIs. New York went 10-18 while Stanton was sidelined. He had missed 266 of 708 games over the previous five seasons (38 percent).
Stanton took batting practice early, batting fifth against the Phillies.
Boone said Stanton “knows his body” and wouldn’t rush back from an injury. He put “the magnitude, the pressure he wanted to put on himself over and over again to know he was back.”
Stanton’s routine lately: “Hit, hit, hit, run, run, sit,” Boone said. “Do it again.”
More recruits could be coming to the Bronx amid rumors of several transactions.
“I’m looking forward to getting through the next 24 hours and thinking, guys, this is what we got, let’s get ’em,” Boone said.
The Yankees, who had a major league record of 49-21 through June 12, were struggling through a 5-15 stretch and had lost four straight games before winning their final two in Boston. They began a three-game series in Philly at 62-45, just 1½ games behind AL East leader Baltimore.
“I think we have a much better roster today than we did a day ago, two days ago,” Boone said. “Getting Giancarlo back, getting a dynamic player like the Jazz, it makes for a better roster and definitely more potential. We’re not a complete product yet. We’re going to work hard to make sure we do the best we can.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
The post Stanton’s return and Chisholm’s arrival encourage Yankees manager Aaron Boone for a long run first appeared on Frugals ca.
