Giancarlo Stanton has enjoyed plenty of postseason success

CLEVELAND — Giancarlo Stanton didn’t appear in a single postseason game during the first eight years of his big-league career, playing the entirety of that time with the mostly woeful Marlins.

Since then, the designated hitter/outfielder has shown an affinity for October baseball.

Stanton provided the only highlight for the Yankees’ offense in a 4-2 loss to the Guardians in Game 2 of their American League Division Series, which continued Saturday night with Game 3 at Progressive Field.

After Gleyber Torres singled with two outs in the first inning against Cleveland ace Shane Bieber, Stanton poked a two-run homer into the rightfield seats. That gave him 10 homers in his first 20 career postseason games, all of them with the Yankees. Only Carlos Beltran’s 11 homers in his first 20 postseason games bests Stanton.

Entering Saturday night, Stanton had hit eight home runs in 35 at-bats in his last 10 postseason games during the past three years. He also became the fourth major-leaguer to hit nine homers in a 12-game stretch in the postseason, joining Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Jim Thome.

Stanton, not surprisingly, doesn’t make too much of his postseason success.

“You’d like to have success any time you’re out there, so just have to continue to make adjustments,” said Stanton, who reached base in 18 of the 20 games. “The postseason’s about the adjustments. They’re more important than during the season because they have to come quicker and they’re most likely do-or-die. Been fortunate to make the right adjustments and be on time for some pitches. Gotta keep doing it.”

Stanton came into Saturday with a .290/.378/.739 slash line, one double, 11 walks, 14 runs and 19 RBIs  in those first 20 games. Three of his 10 home runs came against Cleveland.

Doing well in these playoffs wasn’t necessarily predictable. After coming off the injured list on  Aug. 25 following a bout of left Achilles tendinitis, Stanton finished the regular season 18-for-109 (.165) with seven homers, 17 RBIs and 44 strikeouts.

What makes Stanton’s postseason record all the more impressive is that throughout the majority of his time in pinstripes — which began in 2018 when he hit .266 with 38 homers, 100 RBIs and an .852 OPS — he’s been treated mostly roughly by the home fans.

Stanton homered twice in the 2018 regular-season opener in Toronto but soon slumped. He was booed loudly during the home opener a week later against the Rays when he struck out all five times he stepped to the plate.

“I was awful today,” Stanton said that day, immediately setting the template for his  responses on the occasions when he was booed and subsequently asked about it. “You put up a performance like that, you should get some boos.”

Stanton’s equanimity in the face of adversity has played a significant role in his development into one of the Yankees' clubhouse leaders. He is universally respected by his teammates.

“I think the last couple of years, he's come in in a really good place,” Aaron Boone said of Stanton’s playoff success. “He's worked hard to get to this point, with some struggles, obviously,  when he came off the IL. It was a struggle there for a few weeks, but I think in his mind, he was all [about] building towards getting himself right.

"Dealing with what he had to deal with physically, how to interact in the box correctly, he's real specific. He's real diligent. He does a great job of blocking everything out and being really strict and disciplined to his plan and having a tough mindset in going up there and committing to that. Having success the last couple years [in the postseason], he knows what it takes and has his mind in a good place.”