Giancarlo Stanton’s first games in left field came in the indoor comfort of Rogers Centre. Playing at a chilly, wet and windy Yankee Stadium is a bit more of a challenge for Stanton, who is still learning how to play the position after spending his career in right.
Stanton was tested quickly in Wednesday’s 7-2 win over the Rays when C.J. Cron lined a shot into the left-center gap off Luis Severino in the first with Kevin Kiermaier on first. Stanton seemed to take a shaky route to the ball and it went to the wall for a run-scoring double.
“It was hit hard,” he said.
Stanton added nothing had surprised him about playing left field through two games in The Bronx, but he noted the wind “started swirling a little bit the last few innings.”
So far, though, having to play Stanton defensively because of the rash of injuries in the outfield hasn’t had an adverse impact on the Yankees.
Adam Warren returned to the mound, with one out in the eighth, for the first time since he was drilled in the right ankle Saturday in Toronto.
He immediately gave up a long single to Daniel Robertson and then a sacrifice fly to deep center to Denard Span for the Rays’ second run, but had no complaints about his ankle.
“I didn’t feel anything,’’ Warren said of his ankle. “I was testing it [Tuesday], throwing off the mound. It was good to get out there [Wednesday] and throw some pitches. I only threw seven pitches in Toronto and hadn’t pitched in forever. It was good to get that feeling back and I hope to be ready the rest of the way.”
The Yankees’ bullpen, which has not lived up to its lofty expectations through the very early part of the year, is still not a concern for Aaron Boone.
“They’re all physically fine, so I’m not worried about it over the long haul,” the manager said. “I’m confident that, in the end, they’ll be an overwhelming strength of this club. We’ll do our best to try to protect them as much as we can.”
Part of that includes having his starting pitchers go deeper into games. Luis Severino lasted 92 pitches in his 7 ¹/₃ innings of action Wednesday.
“[Pitch counts are] something we watch closely,’’ Boone said. “I also think it’s critical in the regular season, over time, To be an elite level club or to have a chance to win a division, you’ve got to be able to get innings out of your starters. No matter how great our pen is, for them to be as good as we think they can be, we’ve got to protect them.”
With Gary Sanchez at DH, Austin Romine started behind the plate and picked up his first two hits of the season, both singles.
Brandon Drury doesn’t appear to be a fan of playing in cold weather. A day after going 0-for-4 with a throwing error, the third baseman went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts.
The two-game sweep of the Rays gave the Yankees their 11th straight series win at home against Tampa Bay. They are 25-8 versus the Rays in The Bronx since Sept. 10, 2014.
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