Although manager Aaron Boone said Anthony Rizzo is still “a few weeks” away from returning to the Yankee lineup, the first baseman said Sunday he’s encouraged by how he feels after missing the last two months with a fractured arm.
Rizzo has been hitting and taking grounders.
He said that he’s due for another scan on his arm soon, potentially this week, and if that comes back clean, he would begin rehab games.
But he added that he doesn’t want to return as the player he was when injured.
Rizzo had a lowly .630 OPS — worse than every first baseman with at least 250 plate appearances outside of Washington’s Joey Meneses.
“I feel great and am seeing the ball well,’’ Rizzo said. “I’ve got to come back and produce. It’s not like I’m coming back having hit 25 homers with a bunch of RBIs and a good average. I wasn’t playing like the best version of myself before I got hurt.
“This team needs me to be better than I was and that’s what I want to do. As soon as I get back, I want to be able to contribute. That’s the plan. I want to be a factor. I don’t want to just be here.”
His numbers have slipped each of the last two seasons, as Rizzo has battled neck, back and concussion issues at various times.
Giancarlo Stanton homered for a second straight game and has hit 20 for the 13th time in his career.
After getting just one hit in his first nine at-bats since returning from a hamstring injury, Stanton is 5-for-14 with a pair of doubles and the two homers.
“I think he’s in a good place physically,’’ Boone said. “And he has experience from having gone through [rehab] that has put him in a good spot. I’ve been pleased with his at-bat quality.”
Juan Soto (two home runs) has now homered against all 30 MLB teams.
DJ LeMahieu had two more hard hits and a walk — although he was thrown out trying to get to second on a ball hit to the wall in right-center in the bottom of the eighth.
It was the latest good sign for LeMahieu, who is 8-for-23 with three extra-base hits and 10 RBIs in his last six starts, and helped the Yankees notch at least eight hits for the 15th straight game, their longest streak since 16 in a row in 1997.
Despite making things interesting in the ninth, Clay Holmes earned his 25th save of the season, a career-high.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. made his first error since joining the Yankees when he booted a Marcus Semien grounder in the top of the seventh, allowing two runs to score.
Anthony Volpe had hundreds of family members and friends at the Stadium on Sunday, when he was awarded the team’s Heart and Hustle Award.
His slump, though, continued.
Volpe went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and is hitless in his last 20 at-bats with seven strikeouts.
Jake Cousins struck out three batters after taking over for Marcus Stroman in the sixth.
He’s fanned 32 batters in 23 innings this season.
José Trevino played five innings at catcher with Double-A Somerset in his first rehab game in his comeback from a strained quad.
Boone said Sunday that Trevino would likely play again Tuesday and Wednesday before the team decides when the catcher is ready to rejoin the roster and provide more playing time behind Austin Wells.
