Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge bringing sense of order back to the Yankees' lineup

NEW YORK – There’s a chance Aaron Judge is back in right field by Tuesday night at Tampa.

That means Giancarlo Stanton slots back in the designated hitter’s spot, returning some order to Yankees Universe with that slugging duo regularly in the lineup.

“Feeling good, it’s progressing,’’ Judge said of the right flexor strain that has lately made him strictly a DH. “I want to get back out (to right field) soon.

“I told Big G, ‘Don’t get comfortable out there,’ ’’ the Yankees’ captain said Tuesday night, after a 9-1 bashing of – who else? – the Minnesota Twins at the Stadium.

With Judge serving again as DH, Stanton made his second straight right field start Tuesday, and he can’t look much more comfortable at the plate.

“Timing’s there. Just got to take advantage of mistakes,’’ Stanton said after his first four-hit game in two years – a performance Tuesday that included a mammoth 447-foot home run.

In his seventh game at DH since returning from the injury list, Judge walked three times after belting a first-inning homer – his first since July 23.

According to Elias, the Yankees have a 47-7 record when Judge and Stanton homer in the same game, including postseason.

And it’s postseason when Stanton has been his most lethal, with seven homers in 14 postseason games last year.

“Big threats, tough to pitch against them,’’ said Yankees starter Carlos Rodon, who summed up the pinstriped playoff push with 42 regular season games remaining.

“It’s definitely go-time.’’

Yankees' Carlos Rodon steadies after rocky opening

Even against what’s left of the Twins after MLB’s trade deadline, Rodon caused some immediate concern.

“Is he going to get out of the first inning?’’ manager Aaron Boone wondered as Rodon – who hadn’t lasted more than 5.1 innings in his previous four starts - instantly loaded the bases.

Rodon escaped by yielding just one run, and Austin Martin’s leadoff single would be the Twins’ lone hit of the night.

“Attack the zone, make them put the ball in play,’’ Rodon said of the renewed focus, allowing him to retire 17 straight Twins and 21 of his last 22 batters, going seven full innings.

Rodon’s outing was a nice follow-up to Will Warren’s solid 6.2 innings in Monday night’s win against Minnesota, on a nine-game losing streak versus the Yanks since 2023 and 7-24 since 2019.

Of course, it might’ve been different if the Twins hadn’t started a bulk opener with a 6.86 ERA in Travis Adams after dealing all their prized relievers to contenders.

At least they won’t look like something entirely out of the American Association on Wednesday night, with starter Joe Ryan giving them a fighting chance in the series finale.

Yankees' pressing the reset button

These Twins had won four of their last five games entering Monday, including a series at first-place Detroit.

Yet, Minnesota's arrival on the pinstriped scheduled has helped the Yankees to reset a few things - with their starters finally providing some length, and Judge finding his timing again.

Anthony Volpe's second inning, three-run homer was the game's most significant hit, and he's returned to being a plus-defender at shortstop after that shaky midseason period.

Meanwhile, Ben Rice started behind the plate for a second straight night, with Austin Wells - who has struggled all season to find offensive traction - on the bench a second straight game.

Wells will return to catching Wednesday night's game, and we'll see whether Stanton is allowed to play right field for a third straight game - though he says he's having fun, interacting with the fans while playing under control.

Batting .300 with a .962 in 42 games this season, Stanton is slashing .341/.400/.736 since July 6 (27 games) with 11 homers and 27 RBI.

"He's controlling the strike zone as good as I've seen him,'' said Boone, who also saw Stanton double, line out and single off the right field wall Tuesday.

"And when he gets the pitch he's looking for, he's doing damage.''

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge bringing sense of order back to the Yankees' lineup