NEW YORK _ Giancarlo Stanton's latest injury has swung open the Yankees' designated hitter spot, offering manager Aaron Boone some leeway to get creative.
But it's also a chance for somebody like Mike Ford to stake his claim at DH.
"Obviously, losing G is a big downer for our team, but I'm pretty confident in myself," said Ford, speaking before Tuesday night's game against the Atlanta Braves at Yankee Stadium.
Hours later, Ford delivered two doubles and three RBIs in a 9-6 Yankees win.
In the two games since Stanton landed on the injured list (strained left hamstring), the lefty-swinging Ford has served twice as the DH.
After dropping four of the last five games on a just-completed road trip, the first-place Yankees (11-6) are now 5-0 at home this year.
"We're certainly excited to be here for a while now," said Boone, whose club began a stretch Tuesday where 18 of their next 20 games are in New York, including a Citi Field series against the Mets.
Aaron Judge's fifth-inning solo shot was his MLB-leading ninth homer of the year.
He's homered in four of the Yanks' five home games in 2020, but Judge was oddly substituted in the sixth inning with the Yanks leading 8-3.
Mike Tauchman entered the game as a pinch-hitter and the Yanks made no announcement of any injury to Judge (1-for-2, walk, two runs).
The Yankees had Monday off ahead of their two-game series against the Braves (11-8).
Spotted an 8-0 lead thanks in part to Luke Voit's first-inning, three-run homer and some shoddy Atlanta defense, Yankees lefty starter Jordan Montgomery made it through six innings.
Montgomery yielded a three-run homer to Marcell Ozuna in the sixth.
With Judge gone from the game, Ozuna came to bat as the tying run in the seventh, but Adam Ottavino retired him on an inning-ending groundout.
The Yankees played some shoddy defense themselves, with errors by DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres and a passed ball by catcher Gary Sanchez on an Ottavino slider in the dicey Atlanta seventh.
Two at-bats after belting his fifth homer of the year, off Atlanta starter Touki Toussaint (4 IP, 5 ER) Voit was nailed in the left hand by a Bryce Wilson fastball but remained in the game.
And in a game the Yanks led by eight runs after five innings, Zack Britton was summoned to convert his sixth straight save.
Over his first five innings, Montgomery held the Braves scoreless on just one hit _ a leadoff Ozuna double in the second inning.
Montgomery also sidestepped trouble in the third, partially of his making, and partly due to a defensive hiccup.
The lefty's only walk Tuesday was issued to No. 8 hitter Tyler Flowers, leading off the third.
Ender Inciarte followed by hitting a potential double play grounder to third baseman Gio Urshela, but no one was covering second base; Torres broke from his shortstop position to the bag and LeMahieu never got there.
But Montgomery (2-1) recovered by retiring the top of the Braves' order.
Travis d'Arnaud struck out for the second out, a play that survived Atlanta's challenge that Sanchez committed catcher's interference.
In six innings, Montgomery yielded three runs on four hits and had four strikeouts, a good bounce back from last Thursday's four-inning, five-run loss at Philadelphia.
Boone was aware Tuesday of MLB's preliminary conversations about the possibly of conducting the postseason in a few "bubble" locations, as reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan.
New York could be considered among those sites.
Generally speaking, "it's probably smart to have everything on the table moving forward," Boone said of MLB doing its "due diligence" to create a safe playoff atmosphere.
A recent breech of COVID-19 protocol by Cleveland Indians pitchers Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger, and the weekend brawl between the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics are "all reminders of how fragile this can be and how mindful you have to be of all of your actions right now," Boone said.
Through an interpreter, Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka said it's important that players "take accountability for our actions.
"If we don't do that, the season might come to an end."
Boone says he reminds the group "every few days," about maintaining protocols. It's part of "how you have to be on top of everything right now," as clubs travel about the league.
