NEW YORK — The game was so close that the referee wanted to take another look. New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run that never landed, smashing a line drive so fast and so low that fans sitting in the front row behind the wall in the right field seats It looked like he might have gotten in the way. Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer’s outstretched glove. So after Stanton rounded the bases, music blared and celebratory lights flickered, everyone waited. And waited.
Finally, a replay shown on the big screen in center field showed that Springer just missed the screaming liner, and as cheers erupted in Yankee Stadium, the umpires confirmed it was a home run. did. Stanton was able to exhale.
Stanton’s solo shot in the first inning and two other singles more than helped the Yankees win 9-8 on a chilly Saturday night.
They provided Stanton with a bit of relief, but were perhaps the biggest negative for the Yankees, who had gotten off to a stellar start to the season with a 7-2 record.
“Obviously,” manager Aaron Boone said, “he hasn’t produced much before tonight, but he’s been up to the plate.” There were some swings and misses, but he had a very competitive at-bat. There’s a few things, and sometimes you have to deal with that a little bit on the G. It’s good to see him make some good swings tonight.”
“Bring it in tomorrow,” Stanton said. “You can feel it. Figure out how to keep your legs together.”
Stanton goes to the porch! 3-0 Yanks pic.twitter.com/CaY1J6PSQC
— Talkin Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 6, 2024
Stanton had a terrible start to the season, striking out in 13 of his first 25 at-bats and hitting .125 with one home run.
He was coming off a tough 2023 in which he posted career lows in batting average (.191) and OPS (.695). In the offseason, general manager Brian Cashman almost expected Stanton to be injured at some point in 2024, citing his lengthy injury history. And Cashman did it at a time when Stanton was working on losing weight, especially his once beefy thighs, in order to stay on the field and get through the four years and $98 million the Yankees owe him. did. (The Miami Marlins will pay Stanton the remaining $30 million on his contract.)
Before the game, hitting coach James Rowson said he believed Stanton’s effort off the field was solid, even though he wasn’t producing. Lawson pointed to Stanton’s timing, or apparent lack of timing, and reasoned that it was still early in the season and perhaps Stanton needed time to find his groove. The hitting coach added that Stanton may have strayed a little from his game plan.
“Sometimes (pitchers) don’t follow their plans,” Rowson said. “They might not make suggestions that go along with your plan. Maybe one player made some good pitches and is behind in the count. And sometimes they foul that pitch. Sometimes it happens.
“At the beginning of the year, you’re hitting a good batted ball with a foul instead of forcing it out of play. Some of those things are happening. It’s still early in the year, so the more at-bats you have, the more you’re going to get into the season. I feel like as I go on, I get that feeling of being in that at-bat and not missing a pitch that I should hit. Pitchers are going to make more mistakes that affect the scheme, but he’s going to cancel them out.”
However, a longtime opponent scout who was watching the game called Stanton’s batting stance “weird” and said his swing looked basically the same as last year, but that Stanton changed it in the spring. I was speaking.
“It’s like he’s not using his lower body,” said the scout, speaking freely on condition of anonymity. “And he’s so far beyond the plate that it’s like he’s starting, but his vision is already off balance.”
Stanton appeared at Target on Saturday. When he hit the home run, he was chest-high and slightly outside starting pitcher Kevin Guzman, clocking a 160 mph fastball. The outburst increased the Yankees’ lead to 3-0 after Aaron Judge hit Juan Soto with a two-run homer.
In the third inning, trailing 3-1, Stanton hit right-hander Mitch White’s slider into the hole on the right side. Then, in the fifth inning, White put Stanton in a pinch with a count of 1-2. He aimed high and far with a 94 mph fastball and seemed to hit where he was aiming, but Stanton let it go and hit a line drive single over shortstop. Stanton took the ball at an astonishing 116.7 mph. This was his 500th hit since joining the Yankees in 2018.
“Everyone needs a night like that once in a while,” Boone said. “I’m not worried about things snowballing because he’s so mentally tough and disciplined in what he’s trying to do. He’s just getting comfortable and He’s got to settle in the box, but again, I feel like he’s been fighting all along.”
The Yankees need more of what Stanton showed Saturday. With Soto established as the starting right fielder and Trent Grisham, an excellent defender, established as the fourth outfielder, there are few places where Stanton can play other than designated hitter. He has to make every at-bat count. If he doesn’t, there will be a return to the booing Stanton has become accustomed to over his years in the Bronx, and questions will arise as to whether the club could make better use of his spot. It’s in the lineup.
(Photo: John Manson/Associated Press)