NEW YORK – With one swing, Giancarlo Stanton could have won over the boo birds.
The reigning National League MVP walked up to the plate with the game on the line and one last chance to turn the Yankee Stadium jeers to cheers. His nightmare afternoon would be forgiven with a 12th inning home run or even a base hit.
But Stanton struck out to end the game, giving the Yankees an 8-7 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on the final day of their homestand. He went 0-7 with five K's during a marathon that lasted 4 hours, 48 minutes.
Then those left in crowd by the last pitch let him hear it.
Watching the Yankees blow an early lead and lose three out of four to an AL East rival only made matters worse.
"They're not going to cheer for that," Stanton said, drawing laughs from reporters. "What do you expect?"
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The homecoming for the Yankees' high-profile acquisition hasn't gone as planned. Stanton is now 3-for-28 in the Bronx and even saw the O's intentionally walk Aaron Judge to get to him on Sunday.
"This is a frustrating game to play," Brett Gardner said. "You just feel like you're banging your head against the wall all season long for six or seven months straight. It's for all of us, not just him. For me or [Aaron] Judge or right on down the lineup, there's times when we struggle."
After Craig Gentry's RBI single in the top of the 12th, the Yankees started their own rally. Austin Romine and Didi Gregorius drew walks and Gardner reached on an error. But after a double-play from Judge, Stanton recorded the final out while representing the go-ahead run.
Starting off hot
The Yankees began the game with a season-high.
Five runs came across in the bottom of the first with the help of some unlikely hitters. Miguel Andujar and Romine brought in three with RBI singles and Ronald Torreyes completed the rally with a double that came inches from landing in the left field seats. With three significant outfielders on the DL and other players needing a break, the backups took advantage. The 5-through-9 hitters went 11-for-26 and drove in six runs.
"We feel like our depth can cover us and give us an opportunity to weather the storm and still win ball games," Aaron Boone said, before the game. "We feel like we're a lot closer to being at full strength than it may look right now. That's not far off on the horizon. We feel like we're in a good spot."
Montgomery gets roughed up
Jordan Montgomery only lasted 4.1 innings on Sunday, after being nearly unhittable during his first start.
The 25-year-old lefty gave up four runs (all earned) and a career-high 10 hits, while never finishing a 1-2-3 inning. Trouble began from the start of the game with a leadoff single from Trey Mancini and a base hit from Adam Jones, a few batters later. Montgomery got out of that jam and then limited the damage with double plays in the third or fourth. But he wasn't efficient enough to help a bullpen that threw a combined 13 innings in the prior two days.
Regulars gets some rest
Gary Sanchez (calf) got some extra rest, even with Yankees being off on Monday. Sanchez, who was available as a pinch-hitter, said he felt better on Sunday and believes he could start the next game.
"Being out of the lineup today, it's not about my injury being more serious," Sanchez said, through a translator. "It's just a precaution."
"I just think having a day off tomorrow and putting together a couple of days off, it's smart and it doesn't hurt."