ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The opportunity for Giancarlo Stanton finally arrived .
His first at-bat in five-plus months just did not turn into a moment, but what Aaron Boone saw in it was one of the few things he liked in the Yankees’ 1-0 loss to the Rays in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday night at Tropicana Field.
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Try it free With the Yankees trailing by a run in the top of the ninth, and Rays righty closer Bryan Baker entering from the bullpen, Boone sent Stanton up to pinch hit for the left-handed-hitting Ryan McMahon to lead off the frame.
Stanton, who last took an at-bat April 24 because of three separate calf strains , ended up striking out on five pitches. The veteran slugger fouled off the first pitch, took two balls and a strike, then foul-tipped a 96 mph fastball on the inner third into the catcher’s mitt for Strike 3.
“Baker’s obviously had a great year,” Boone said. “Really tough, really reverse [splits] guy. So not that I was going to hit for a lot of my lefties there, but felt the threat of Gian...