Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton exits early, but X-rays negative

A second straight Yankees win Monday did not come without another injury concern.

Giancarlo Stanton fouled multiple balls off his foot and ankle in the sixth inning of a 5-2 win over the Twins, and while he stayed in the game to finish the at-bat, Aaron Hicks pinch hit for him in the eighth inning.

X-rays were negative, according to Aaron Boone, but the manager was noncommittal about Stanton being back in the lineup Tuesday.

“We’ll just see what we got,” Boone said.

Boone and a trainer paid a visit to Stanton during the sixth-inning at-bat after he fouled another ball out of play and came up hobbling. He remained in the game and grounded out.

“I think it was when he was planting, it was just bothering him,” Boone said. “But nothing more.”

Stanton is less than two weeks removed from missing 28 games with left Achilles tendinitis, but Boone said Monday’s issues had nothing to do with that.

Before exiting the game, Stanton went 0-for-3 with three groundouts. The first two were missiles at 104.3 mph and 108.9 mph, but hit right at infielders.

In 10 games since coming back from the IL (exclusively as a DH), Stanton is 4-for-38 (.105) with nine strikeouts, five walks and no extra-base hits.

“For being as powerful as he is, he is a guy that hits the ball on the ground and on a line a lot,” Boone said. “Even when he’s come back, so far a lot of his — he’s probably hit about eight to 10 balls, rockets on the ground. Some for hits, two today right at guys. So he’s been a little unlucky in that way.

“He tends to, because of how his swing is, be a little more line drive, a lot more one-hopper ground balls and things like that. It has been a little bit that way since coming back, but I think it’s more for G just finding that really good timing.”

Despite Stanton’s slow start back, the Yankees could ill afford him missing more time, especially with Anthony Rizzo (back) and DJ LeMahieu (toe) already beat up and Andrew Benintendi (broken hamate) set for surgery on Tuesday.