Yankees shut out by Rays in ALDS Game 1; Giancarlo Stanton returns

After blowing out the rival Boston Red Sox twice in the Wild Card Series, the New York Yankees were shut down by Tampa Bay Rays ace Drew Rasmussen in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday night (TB 1, NY 0). Rasmussen took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before Austin Wells broke it up (by making an out at third). It was the first time New York was one-hit in the postseason.

"Every win is an exhale and exciting, and the losses are gut punches," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Game 1. "But you've got to just keep moving and know that you're going to have some tough days too."

Game 1 marked the return of Giancarlo Stanton to game action. Stanton did not play during the regular season after April 24 due to three separate calf injuries, though he is on the postseason roster as a pinch-hitter. He did not appear during the Wild Card Series. In Game 1 against the Rays, he was sent up to pinch-hit for Ryan McMahon to lead off the ninth inning.

The at-bat didn't go well -- Rays closer Bryan Baker struck Stanton out on five pitches -- though it's not hard to see the logic behind the pinch-hit decision. McMahon is a glove-first guy who didn't hit much this year, and Baker has reverse splits. Righties had more success against him than lefties, making the righty-hitting Stanton a better option than the lefty swinging McMahon.

Even after the layoff, Stanton is a much better bet to tie the game with one swing than McMahon, and if he reached base, 34-steal man José Caballero could pinch-run (Caballero could have pinch-ran for McMahon too, of course). It was a sound pinch-hit decision that just didn't work out. Despite the strikeout, Boone liked what he saw from Stanton during the five-pitch at-bat.

"I thought he had a really good at-bat," Boone said. "I thought he was on all (five) pitches. I thought he was seeing the changeup well. I thought got a good swing off right out of the bat. I liked what I saw. He took the right at-bat. He just didn't clip it. So, yeah, I mean, I'm going to take my shot with a hitter there, and got Cabby to run for him. We'll take our shot right there."

Stanton has hit against the high-velocity pitching machine and taken batting practice for weeks as part of his rehab. That isn't the same as hitting in the ninth inning of a 1-0 postseason game, obviously, but Stanton has done as much prep work as possible leading up to his return to game action. In all likelihood, Game 1 won't be his final appearance of the ALDS.

Now 36, Stanton played 24 games and hit .256/.302/.422 with three home runs before the initial calf injury ended his regular season. He suffered two other calf strains during while rehabbing. They were three separate injuries (two to the right calf and one to the left), not multiple setbacks of the same injury.

A year ago Stanton authored a .273/.350/.593 line with 24 home runs in only 77 games around a pair of elbow issues. He has hit 18 home runs in 49 career postseason games, and was named ALCS MVP in 2024.