It will not matter to him because of the end result, but Giancarlo Stanton stands alone. 

Rarely is a Yankees record set, such is the history of the organization, but no one in the history of the Yankees has swatted more home runs in a single postseason than their slugging designated hitter. 

Stanton crushed a third-inning home run, his seventh dinger in 14 postseason games, during the 7-6, World Series-ending Game 5 loss to the Dodgers in The Bronx that was not lost because of Stanton. 

Stanton provided the fifth Yankees run of the night with the home run off Ryan Brasier and the sixth, final run of their season with a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the sixth. 

All year, Stanton has harped upon situational hitting as an area he needs to focus. With runners on the corners against overpowering righty Brusdar Graterol, Stanton managed to get under a first-pitch slider and send it to the warning track in left-center. Juan Soto scored the run that might have made the difference if the Dodgers did not complete a comeback in the eighth.

After a comeback season but not a particularly excellent one, Stanton flipped a switch in October. He drove in a run in 10 of 14 games this month, up to 16 total, and was 15-for-55 while consistently rising to the moment — except his final one. 

Stanton got a chance in the bottom of the eighth when he stepped to the plate with two on and the Yankees trailing by one. 

He flied out to right, a last-ditch rally falling short. 

With a walk in the second inning, Juan Soto extended a 25-game postseason on-base streak that dates back to Game 2 of the 2022 wild-card series, when he was with the Padres. 

Soto is tied with Boog Powell for fifth all time in a category that Miguel Cabrera leads at 31 straight. 

The Yankees kept the same lineup from a night prior, which consisted of lefty-swinging Jazz Chisholm Jr. at cleanup, splitting up righties Judge and No. 5 hitter Stanton. 

Austin Wells, who was benched in Game 3, was back at catcher and hitting eighth after drilling a home run in Game 4. 

Before Wednesday’s do-or-die game, the Yankees were planning on flying to Los Angeles on Thursday for what would be an off-day with no workout before a Game 6 that would have been Friday. 

They will not be making the trip.