Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton knows he needs to be a better pinch-hitter now

With the Yankees mixing and matching their lineup and Giancarlo Stanton out of it more often than he would’ve been as a younger player, he knows he needs to boost his numbers as a pinch-hitter.

Thursday marked a strong step forward in that effort, as Stanton took an at-bat from Jorbit Vivas in the eighth inning. With Matt Brash on the mound for the Mariners, Stanton drilled a two-run homer. That put the Yankees down two and made an eventual walk-off possible in the 10^th after they had been no-hit for seven innings and faced a 5-0 deficit.

“No lead is safe, especially 5-0,” Stanton said after the 6-5 win. “As a pinch-hitter getting ready for the game, you don’t know whether to launch, whether or not, but no lead is safe. So I had to make sure I was ready to go, and it happens quick.”

Giancarlo Stanton drives a pinch-hit, two-run homer to the bullpen and the @Yankees are right back in it 👀 pic.twitter.com/9iVxKtia6G

— MLB (@MLB) July 11, 2025

Stanton’s home run was the 432^nd of his career, but his first as a pinch-hitter. The designated hitter was previously 5-for-48 (.104) as a pinch-hitter.

“I haven’t pinch-hit too much, and I haven’t been the greatest at it either,” Stanton admitted afterward. But with the 35-year-old poised for more opportunities to do so, he added, “Better be a better pinch-hitter if that’s the case.”

After missing the first two months of the season with tennis elbows, Stanton has been out of the lineup a few times a week. So have other Yankees, as Boone has been rotating outfielders Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Jasson Domínguez, as well as first base options Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice, depending on matchups.

They can’t all start every day, but they can factor in off the bench.

“They know that a big at-bat may be coming for them,” Boone said, “and they understand the importance of that.”

While Stanton has not been good as a pinch-hitter in the past, Boone didn’t put much stock into his previous numbers on Thursday, and he certainly didn’t hesitate to shoot him off the bench with the Yankees rallying.

“In the past, whenever he was 0-for-whatever he was at some point, those off days were few and far between,” Boone said. “Now he’s playing two out of three, three out of four, whatever it may be. So those things he knows are more in play on a daily basis. Plus, just the way you’re able to prepare now underneath gets you ready for those [moments], and we’ve seen Giancarlo evolve over his career here as a Yankee and just become so good at the mental game of this and the preparation game of this.

“So I think probably a lot of those at-bats were when he was a young man.”

Stanton, meanwhile, said he’s made some adjustments to his routine on days that he’s out of the lineup, as he knows there’s a good chance he won’t ride the bench all game if things get tight at the end.

“You alter your prep a little bit when you warm up, how you see the flow of the game, but it’s ever-evolving,” he said. “You never know who you’re gonna face. You have an idea, but just go along with the game, make adjustments.”

SURGERY FOR SCHMIDT

Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt was scheduled for Tommy John surgery on Friday, Boone said. Dr. Keith Meister was tasked for the procedure, which will knock Schmidt out for the rest of the season and, at minimum, a large chunk of the 2026 campaign.