ALDS Game 3: Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton look to continue assault on MLB postseason records

When the New York Yankees take the field Wednesday for Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., they will have several MLB postseason records in sight. Per Yankees PR:

The Yankees have …

– Hit a total of 13 HR this postseason, the most by any Major League team in their first four postseason games and enter tonight’s game already with the record for most HR through a team’s first five postseason games (previous: 12 HR by the 2015 Cubs).

– Hit multiple home runs in a Major League-record six straight postseason games dating back to 2019 ALCS Game 5 (previous: 5 games by four teams).

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– Scored 36 runs this postseason, the second-most runs ever by a Major League team in their first four postseason games … trails only the 1932 Yankees who scored 37 runs in their first four postseason games.

– Scored at least 5 runs in each of their first four postseason games, tied for the fourth-longest such streak in Major League history…only the 1987 Twins (7 games), 1995 Mariners (5 games) and 1971 Orioles (5 games) have longer streaks to start a postseason.

– Has homered in four straight postseason games, becoming only the third Yankee to accomplish the feat, joining Reggie Jackson (4 games from 1977 WS G4 – 1978 ALCS G1) and Lou Gehrig (4 games from 1928 WS Game 2 – 1932 WS G1) … is the only Yankee to homer in four straight games in a single postseason.

– Is only the second player in Major League history to hit at least 5 HR in their team’s first four postseason games, joining Texas’ Juan Gonzalez in 1996 (also 5 HR) … no player has ever hit at least 6 HR in his team’s first five games.

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– Is only the 10th player in Major League history to homer in at least four straight postseason games … his four-game HR streak is tied for the fourth-longest in Major League history, trailing only Daniel Murphy (6 games in 2015), Houston’s George Springer (5 games from 2017-18) and Carlos Beltrán (5 games in 2004).

– Is only the third player in Major League history to homer in his team’s first four games of a postseason, joining San Francisco’s Jeffrey Leonard in 1987 and Texas’ Juan Gonzalez in 1996 (both four-game streaks).

– Has recorded 4 RBI in back-to-back postseason games, becoming only the second player in Major League history to accomplish the feat (also Washington’s Michael Taylor in two straight games in 2017)…became only the third Yankee to record at least 4 RBI in multiple games in a single postseason, joining Hideki Matsui (5 RBI in 2004 ALCS Games 1 and 3) and Yogi Berra (4 RBI in 1956 World Series Games 2 and 7).

– Has 5 HR and 11 RBI in four games this postseason … according to STATS, is the first player in Major League history to have at least 5 HR and at least 10 RBI in any four-game span in a single postseason.

– Has hit 5 HR this postseason are tied for third-most in a single postseason in Yankees history (Alex Rodriguez – 6 HR in 15 games in 2009, Bernie Williams – 6 HR in 15 games in 1996 and Reggie Jackson – 5 HR in 11 games in 1977).

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