Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton exits in 6th inning vs. Astros with right calf problem

HOUSTON — Given how injury-prone the Yankees have been over the years, it was somewhat remarkable that, entering Friday, they were the lone team in Major League Baseball in 2026 not to send a player to the injured list.

That streak may well be in jeopardy, and it no surprise when it comes to the player who might snap it.

Veteran designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, whose career in a Yankees uniform has featured both prodigious home runs and extensive stays on the IL, left Friday night’s game against the Astros in the top of the sixth inning with what the club in-game announced in the vaguest of terms: “right lower leg tightness.”

After the Yankees won their seventh straight with a 12-4 victory over the Astros, manager Aaron Boone specified Stanton’s right calf as the affected area. Boone said, as of Friday night, there were no tests scheduled for the 36-year-old Stanton, a potential sign that an IL stint could be avoided.

“Hopefully, we got ahead of anything serious, but we’ll just see where he’s at tomorrow,” Boone said.

In Friday’s sixth inning, Stanton singled in Ben Rice, who led off with a double, and went to second on a walk to Jazz Chisholm Jr. While at second, Stanton signaled to Boone that he was in some discomfort.

J.C. Escarra then lasered one off the wall in left and Stanton awkwardly stop-started as he lingered between second and third waiting to see if the catcher’s shot would be caught. Stanton gingerly trotted to third and did not make an attempt to score when Escarra’s ball eluded leftfielder Dustin Harris after clanking off the wall. After a brief talk with Boone and trainer Michael Schuk, Stanton left the game.

Stanton, 1-for-3 with an RBI Friday night and hitting .256 with three homers and a .724 OPS this season, has had his share of soft-tissue injuries with the Yankees.

After appearing in 158 games in 2018, his first year in pinstripes, Stanton has had at least one IL stint in each successive season.

Knee and quad issues, as well as a left biceps strain, limited him to 18 games in 2019. A left hamstring strain sidelined him for just over a month during the 60-game COVID-19 season in 2020.

There was a left quad strain that put him on the IL in 2021, and right ankle inflammation and left Achilles tendinitis resulted in two IL stints in 2022. A left hamstring strain cost him time in 2023. And in 2024, it was his left hamstring once again.

After tennis elbow in both elbows put him on the IL the first 2 1/2 months of last season, Stanton hit .273 with 24 homers and a .944 OPS in 77 games.

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.