Giancarlo Stanton enjoying playing the outfield and doing a good job, too

ATLANTA — After seemingly finding reason after reason to not put Giancarlo Stanton in the outfield for the better part of the last two-plus seasons, the Yankees suddenly can’t seem to get enough of having the slugger in the field.

And he and the Yankees could not be more pleased with how it’s worked out.

How much has he enjoyed playing in the field? "A lot, actually," Stanton said over the weekend.

Stanton — who hit a solo home run to rightfield in the second inning and added a two-out, two-run double in the sixth Monday night — started in rightfield and batted fifth as the Yankees started a two-game series against Atlanta, which, like the Yankees, had won nine straight coming into the day.

It was the first time since 1901 that a game featured two teams with winning streaks of at least nine games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Yankees made it 10 straight, 5-1.

"I’ve enjoyed getting back into that routine," Stanton said. "Getting better at flinching on foul balls and whatnot. Haven’t been out there for a bit, so it’s been good getting that feel back like in the old days."

In the old days, Stanton was an everyday presence in the outfield — overwhelmingly in rightfield — during his time with the Marlins from 2010-17, and that generally played to good reviews.

"To me, he never got the credit [he should have] for his play [in the outfield]," one longtime National League scout said. "He wasn’t winning any awards out there, but he was fine and even really good at times."

His reps in the outfield began to change in 2018, his first season with the Yankees, who were set in their outfield with Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge and saw Stanton more as the everyday DH. The organization also had hopes that Clint Frazier, then a top prospect who debuted in 2017, might blossom.

Stanton, whose durability as an everyday player has mostly been forgotten because of the injuries that have mounted in recent years, actually appeared in 158 games for the Yankees in 2018 (after appearing in 159 in ’17, his NL MVP season).

Of those 158 games in ’18, Stanton was in the field for 72 of them (compared to 86 at DH).

In 2019, injuries began to take their toll. Stanton appeared in only 18 games total (13 in the outfield).

Starting in spring training this year, the Yankees talked about getting Stanton time in the outfield but kept putting it off, at last breaking the seal on that on July 30 in Miami. He played leftfield, his first start in the field since Game 1 of the 2019 ALCS in Houston.

It was the start of a stretch of 23 games in which he started in the field 11 times. In the just-completed series against the Twins, Stanton started in right in two of the three games.

His ability to play the field has freed up the DH spot for Luke Voit, who has flourished since coming off the IL and was just named the AL Player of the Week.

Perhaps it’s a coincidence — and perhaps not — but in the 22 games entering Monday night, Stanton was hitting .301 with four homers and a .941 OPS.

"I think he was looking forward to getting out there, but I also think it’s probably gone better than even he expected," Aaron Boone said Saturday after watching Stanton go 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the Yankees’ 7-1 victory. "I like it. I do think it keeps him more athletic. He’s played a capable outfield, he’s made all the plays. He moved around well [Saturday]. Played balls off the wall well and he’s having good at-bats. He’s getting on base a lot and driving in some big runs."

Boone was immediately encouraged in that regard after that series in Miami.

"We’ll listen to him, listen to the body, and see what we’re seeing as far as how often we can potentially run him out there," he said Aug. 1. "So hopefully it can be an option for us, whether it ends up being one day a week, two days. Whatever it ends up being, I think hopefully it can benefit him some, but also certainly [can] benefit the team overall."

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.