Yankees Notebook: Aaron Boone sees Giancarlo Stanton ‘getting there’ at the plate

DENVER — It’s taken some time, but Giancarlo Stanton is starting to look like the hitter he and the Yankees expect him to be.

While the team’s offense is struggling mightily, Stanton crushed a two-run home run in the first inning of Friday’s loss to the Rockies. In doing so, the slugger gave the Yankees their only runs of the game. He added a double as well.

Entering Saturday’s game, Stanton had 11 RBI and 11 hits in his last 11 games. He also totaled seven runs scored, three doubles and four homers over that span while registering a .290/.386/.684 slash line and just seven strikeouts.

“He’s getting there,” Aaron Boone said Saturday afternoon. “It’s timing. It’s rhythm. It’s that subtle load that he has within his legs and his hands. So he’s getting into that good position to make a good swing decision.”

Stanton has appeared far more comfortable at the plate than he did after first coming off the injured list on June 2 following a hamstring strain, which he suffered on April 15. While Stanton homered in his first game back, he slashed .113/.203/.226 and struck out 23 times in his first 18 games off the IL.

Boone noted that some players need time to click after long stints on the shelf. Stanton is no stranger to that, as it took him some time to get acclimated following an Achilles injury last year.

“Sometimes it’s taken him a little bit,” Boone said. “Last year, though, was different than this year. Last year, he was trying to kind of learn how to play through and knowing he wasn’t gonna be perfect physically. He’s been pretty healthy since he’s come back [this year].”

Entering Saturday, Stanton was hitting .211/.281/.454 with seven doubles, 10 home runs, 25 RBI and a 101 OPS+ over 42 games. Those numbers are a far cry from the standards the former MVP has set for himself, but his recent stretch has Boone hoping a bigger outburst is on the way.

“When G really locks it in, then you’re in real trouble,” the manager said. “But there’s no question the last couple of weeks, he’s trending in that direction.”

MEETING UP WITH MONTAS

Boone believes the Yankees will see Frankie Montas when they go to Anaheim next week. The right-hander, who underwent offseason shoulder surgery, has a scheduled follow-up appointment with Dr. Neal ElAttrache that lines up with the team’s upcoming series against the Angels.

Montas has been limited to playing catch so far, and he had a couple days of not throwing due to soreness. However, pitching coach Matt Blake told the Daily News that the Yankees still expect Montas to pitch this season.

“They’re just making sure, as he goes through this rehab, that we’re checking all the boxes as far as what the body is supposed to feel like and things like that,” Blake said.

Montas has pitched (poorly) in just eight regular season games since the Yankees acquired him from the A’s last summer. His shoulder bothered him before and after the trade. Despite the risks, the Yankees sent Cooper Bowman, Luis Medina, JP Sears and Ken Waldichuk to Oakland for Montas and Lou Trivino, who underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this season.

OTHER INJURY UPDATES

Boone said that Jake Bauers (rotator cuff contusion) is getting close to ramping up baseball activities in the next couple of days.

The manager added that Jonathan Loáisiga (bone spur) is close to throwing to live hitters.

Luis Gil, meanwhile, tweeted on Friday that he threw his first live batting practice session since undergoing Tommy John surgery. The righty has not pitched since last May.

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