No return yet in sightih for Stanton
Giancarlo Stanton is closing in on a month since he sprained his right knee on an awkward slide in a win over the Blue Jays, and the Yankees are no closer to knowing when the slugger might return.
“It’s better, but still slow,’’ Aaron Boone said of Stanton’s recovery before the Yankees lost to the Rockies on Sunday, 8-4. “He’s not doing baseball activities yet. He continues to work on stabilizing things to get the quad built up and strong.”
Stanton has received treatment at Yankee Stadium, where he remained during the homestand, but he has played in just nine games this season, bothered by biceps, shoulder and quad injuries before sustaining the June 25 knee injury.
“It’s moving slow, but in talking to him, he feels like he’s making progress,’’ Boone said. “The first couple of weeks were a little frustrating.’’
The Yankees have done just fine without Stanton, thanks to contributions from outfielders Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks and Brett Gardner — although Gardner missed Sunday’s game with left knee soreness.
They’ve also got production from unlikely sources, including Mike Tauchman, who homered again Sunday and is 9-for-19 with two doubles, two homers and four walks in his past eight games. He has remained on the roster with Clint Frazier at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Cameron Maybin could return soon from a strained left calf. He is scheduled to begin a rehab stint with SWB on Tuesday in Columbus.
➤ Gary Sanchez’s slump hasn’t let up. He finished the homestand with a hitless afternoon and has just
10 hits in his past 75 at-bats. In that 19-game stretch, Sanchez has three extrabase hits and six walks, while striking out 26 times.
“I don’t feel he’s far off,” Boone said. “He’s expanding the strike zone a little bit more than usual. But he’s getting his ‘A’ swing off a lot.”
Sanchez’s tough day at the plate wasn’t helped by the oppressive heat. His passed ball with the bases loaded in the eighth cost the Yankees a run, although it was a tough call, as Stephen Tarpley missed his spot with the pitch.
➤ Since the Yankees decided to not option Tarpley back to the minors after he tossed three innings out of the bullpen on Friday, they were left without a clear-cut long man out of the bullpen on Sunday, so
Adam Ottavino came in to pitch an inning despite the Yankees trailing by six runs at the time. It was his third appearance in four days.
“We were just kind of up against it,’’ Boone said. “We had to piece it together ... and we needed a few batters [from him] there.’’ Aroldis Chapman, who hadn’t pitched since Monday, tossed a scoreless ninth.