Luis Garcia Jr. homers in first game after being traded to Yankees

Luis Garcia Jr. walked into the home clubhouse Monday at Yankee Stadium and put on some Yankees clothes. And it meant a whole lot to the new guy with New York ties who grew up rooting for the players in pinstripes.

“A lot of people know I was born here in New York and spent a good chunk of my life here in New York,” Garcia said via an interpreter at his introductory media session after being acquired from the Nationals on Sunday for four pitchers. “To be part of this team and walking in, [I feel] very fortunate.”

Garcia moved to the Dominican Republic when he was 8. The Yankees have brought him back to the city with the hope that his lefty bat adds a jolt to a lineup that has been struggling to consistently produce runs without the injured Aaron Judge.

And Garcia provided that jolt Monday night against the Cardinals. He capped a Yankees comeback from six runs down, rocketing a two-out, two-run shot to the back of their bullpen in right-center in the seventh. That highlighted his 2-for-4 debut and gave them a one-run lead.

They couldn’t hold it, though. Angel Chivilli served up three homers in a seven-run eighth, including Alec Burleson’s third two-run homer of the game. The Yankees lost 13-7, dropping them to 63-50.

But the big moment wasn’t lost on Garcia.

“It means a lot to be able to do that, hit a homer at Yankee Stadium and to be able to get the ball back,” he said. “It’s a great moment there, a great memory. So I’ll keep that in my heart.”

Manager Aaron Boone had him batting third and manning first.

“We got Luis Garcia in here who’s been kind of a wrecking ball in the National League this year, I think leading that league in slugging,” Boone said. “I think [he] becomes an instant presence in our lineup.

“Obviously, we’ve had our struggles offensively for a good stretch now, and we think he helps that a lot.”

The expectation is for him to be used mostly at first against righty pitchers, and some as a DH. The plan is for Paul Goldschmidt to be mostly at first against lefties. Garcia primarily played second the past three years for Washington before moving to first this season.

General manager Brian Cashman made just one other deal before Monday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline, acquiring righty-hitting outfielder Heliot Ramos.

“Ramos coming in from San Francisco crushes lefthanded pitching,” Cashman said. “Garcia crushes righthanded pitching.”

Jasson Dominguez was sent down to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game to make room for Ramos. Chivilli was also optioned. So was shortstop Anthony Volpe to make room for heralded shortstop George Lombardi Jr. to be called up.

As for Garcia, who’s under team control through next season, he changed his style of hitting this season and had already sent up a career-high 23 homers for the Nationals.

His eyes had to light up with the view of the short porch in right at the Stadium.

“It’s one of the adjustments that I made this year, to get the ball more in the air more frequently, to be able to pull it with more authority, especially on certain pitches in the zone,” Garcia said. “No secret, playing here at Yankee Stadium, it’s exciting to be a part of that and see what happens there.”

Or as his new teammate, Carlos Rodon, put it: “Great bat. Got some slug lefthanded. Going to fit really well in this park.”

Garcia also owned a career-high RBI total with 76 across 104 games in his seventh season with Washington. He posted a slash line of .283/.313/.560 and was batting .330 with runners in scoring position.

He had done much more damage against righties overall, batting .295 with 20 doubles, 20 homers and a .918 OPS. Against lefties? He was batting .218 with a .627 OPS in just 55 at-bats.

All in all, though, his new approach has worked.

“Better results have come,” Garcia said.

There were two Yankees he admired the most as a kid, and that inspired his jersey number with the Nationals.

“Growing up, my favorite players were [Derek] Jeter and Robbie Cano,” Garcia said. “It’s one of the reasons why I [wore] 2.”

Like Jeter. Now Garcia is wearing No. 26 for his childhood dream team.

Notes & quotes: Cam Schlittler lasted only three innings, throwing 83 pitches and allowing four runs, four hits and five walks … Rodon (elbow) threw live batting practice to Giancarlo Stanton and Ali Sanchez. “With 40 pitches today,” Boone said, “probably a chance that Saturday he could be in a rehab game.”