Giancarlo Stanton out of Yankees' ALCS Game 2 lineup with right quadriceps strain

HOUSTON — The Yankees’ injury issues have followed them into the postseason.

Giancarlo Stanton suffered a right quadriceps strain in the Yankees’ 7-0 victory over the Astros in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday night, Aaron Boone disclosed before Sunday night’s Game 2.

Cameron Maybin started in leftfield in place of Stanton, who general manager Brian Cashman said was a pinch-hitting option Sunday.

“Hopefully it’ll be something he’ll be able to come back from, but we’ll see,” Boone said a few hours before Game 2.

An MRI showed the strain, which would seem to make Stanton’s return in this series a long shot. But with Stanton being out Sunday and with an off day to follow Monday, the club is holding out hope that he could show enough improvement and not need to be replaced on the roster.

Any roster changes during a playoff series must first be approved by Major League Baseball. If Stanton is replaced on the roster for the ALCS and the Yankees reach the World Series, he will not be eligible to be on the roster.

If a replacement on the roster is needed, Tyler Wade, who can play all three outfield positions as well as three infield spots (aside from first base), would be a leading candidate.

Stanton suffered the injury while legging out an infield single in the second inning Saturday night. He homered in the sixth and did not say anything to Boone or the training staff until after the game.

“He was obviously able to finish the game, but he did injure it a little bit,” Boone said.

Stanton was replaced by Maybin in the eighth inning of Game 1, which has been standard this postseason because Maybin is the superior defender. The move was not related to the injury.

Stanton was limited to 18 games during the regular season because of a variety of injuries. The Yankees wound up putting a record 30 players on the injured list during the season.

“It is what it is,” Cashman said. “Doesn’t matter, frustration, no frustration. Cam gets a shot now, and I’m kind of thankful we, when we were wrestling what to do with our roster before this series started, that we made a tough choice to put [Aaron] Hicks on. And now that’s going to play into this a little bit more so now because of this. Hey, another person gets an opportunity and see what he makes of it. So far that’s served us well all year. But it’s not how you draw it up.”

With David Lennon