Giancarlo Stanton's Warm Welcome Not Enough for Yankees

Stanton was grateful for the warm welcome home in a postgame interview, saying, "It's awesome. It's amazing. It's been a long time coming for the year, so I appreciate them. Good thing I was able to do alright tonight."

Stanton got his first hit of the season in the bottom of the fourth off Los Angeles Angels pitcher José Soriano, going 2-for-4 in the game, but ultimately leaving somewhat disappointed.

The Yankees lost 1-0 to the Angels in extra innings, resulting in their second consecutive shutout and fourth consecutive loss after a series sweep to the Boston Red Sox over the weekend. Stanton expressed his regret in a postgame interview, obviously eager for a win in the coming days.

“Great to be back. Obviously, [I] want to win, but it’s good to be back out there,” Stanton said, via the Post. “It was a solid first day, and I’ll take it into tomorrow.”

The 35-year-old DH was out for the first 70 games of this season with tendon injuries to both his elbows. After a monumental performance last season that led the Yankees to the World Series, the reigning ALCS MVP was sorely missed.

Ahead of the game, manager Aaron Boone shared that the team will exercise some caution with respect to utilizing Stanton in the wake of his injuries, but Boone feels that he has a good foundation for the time being.

"I would think that things might come up from time to time and that could play into different things on a given day if you feel like it's best to give him a day," Boone said. "But I think he's built some good momentum here over the last couple of months with it. The strength in his hands and things like that has returned in a good way so certainly something we'll pay attention to but feel like we're in a pretty good spot."

In the shuffle to get Stanton back on the roster, Pablo Reyes was designated for assignment, and Oswald Peraza was seen working out in right field at Fenway Park over the weekend, likely preparing for a utility role.