The slumping New York Yankees may be getting slugger Giancarlo Stanton back in their lineup Monday when the Yankees face the National League East-leading Philadelphia Phillies. Stanton has been out with a hamstring injury since June 23, and the Yankees are hoping that he can provide some much-needed power to their struggling offense.
The Yankees had a brilliant start to the season as they were able to get off to a 50-22 start. However, their last 40 games have been a huge challenge for manager Aaron Boone and his players. They have gone just 15-25 in that span as their lineup has regularly failed to string hits together and sustain their offensive attack.
Aaron Judge remains a likely contender for MVP honors in the American League and Juan Soto has also been excellent, but the rest of the Yankees lineup has been quite disappointing and the return of Stanton could be just the boost the Yankees need.
Currently, the Yankees have a 60-44 record and they are in second place in the American League East, 2.0 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. Despite their downturn over the last six weeks, the Yankees are still in the American League playoff structure. They are currently the lead team in the Wild Card race, ahead of both the the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals.
Stanton can deliver a significant dose of power to Yankee lineup
Giancarlo Stanton has a slash line of .246/.302/.492 this season and he has mashed 18 home runs and 45 runs batted in. By adding him back to the Yankee lineup, the offense could become significantly more dangerous.
That's because Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have been hitting the ball extremely well to this point in the season. Judge is slashing .307/.438/.669 with an eye-catching 35 home runs and 89 runs batted in.
Soto has also done extremely well with his .311/.435/.599 slash line. Soto has delivered 26 homers and has knocked in 72 runs. The former Washington National and San Diego Padre has been walked 82 times and has one of the best batting eyes in the Major Leagues.
Yankees struggling against rivals
The Yankees will try to turn things around this weekend against the Boston Red Sox. The two teams are scheduled to play a three-game series at Fenway Park. The Red Sox have gotten the best of the Yankees in a pair of three-game series so far this season. The Red Sox won 2 of 3 in their home ball park, and they have also won 2 of 3 at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees were beaten in back to back games this week against the New York Mets, and they lost all four games they played against their New York City rivals. The Red Sox are coming off a post-All Star Game 1-5 road trip in back-to-back series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies.
While the offense has been inconsistent, the Yankees have gotten excellent contributions from their pitching staff throughout the majority of the season. Gerrit Cole has returned and is the ace of the staff, and Boone hopes he can return to his best form. Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman and Luis Gil are hoping for a solid run over the last 2-plus months of the season.