Giancarlo Stanton wrecked a game Wednesday night. That’s why you put up with him “clogging up” the designated hitter spot in the Yankee lineup and, sometimes, the basepaths.
When you have this kind of power and you can deliver in the tensest moments, it doesn’t matter if you’re not a plus baserunner.
All the hand-wringing over the things Stanton can’t do seems so laughable in the aftermath of his sublime performance in Game 3 of the AL Division Series against the Royals. Stanton, essentially, slugged the Yankees to a 3-2 victory in, as he put it, “a huge swing game.”
He blasted a tie-breaking solo homer in the top of the eighth inning to give the Yanks what would be their final margin of victory. That’s after he smashed an RBI double earlier in the evening to drive in their first run.
He finished 3-for-5 with two RBI. Stanton even stole a base.
It was a huge performance on a night when the rest of his teammates went a collective 1-for-25. The only other hit was an Anthony Volpe single.
Without Stanton’s swings — and the bullpen, which has been terrific all series — the Yankees’ season might be the one on the brink in this best-of-five affair, not the Royals, who will try to stay alive by winning Thursday’s Game 4.
“He’s a killer,” Yankee manager Aaron Boone said of Stanton in the interview room after the game. “It’s remarkable or I just admire how well he’s able to focus in these big moments and just go to a different place mentally. The at-bat on the home run was phenomenal. I think he went up there to do that and off a really tough reliever in (Kris) Bubic, who’s a neutral guy that gets righties and lefties out.
“I thought he laid off all the right pitches and got the one he was looking for and didn’t miss it. Obviously, a huge night for him.”
“This is what I came here for,” Stanton said in the interview room. “Not always going to be successful, but just got to keep working and put yourself in the best opportunity.”
It’s the first go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later in a postseason game by a Yankee since Raul Ibañez in the 2012 ALDS.
Stanton’s big night was crucial for these Yankees in part because Aaron Judge, their best player, is 1-for-11 in the series. While Stanton said of Judge, “He’s definitely going to do damage, it’s only a matter of time,” it still stands to reason that Judge’s October struggles will continue to be a pinstriped theme as long as they last.
The rotation has not pitched well, recording a 6.08 ERA over the first three games, though they are hopeful Gerrit Cole is better in Game 4. The bullpen (13.2 innings pitched, one unearned run allowed) has been a constant delight, though.
But if the Yanks do indeed advance and accomplish something wonderful this October, Stanton’s home run probably blooms into a signature moment of whatever run they make.
And that’s how it should be. Stanton has been a regular October contributor since donning pinstripes in 2018. He now has 12 home runs and 27 RBI in 30 postseason games with the Yankees. Yes, there have been some playoff at-bats where he’s waved at unhittable breaking balls in the other batter’s box. But in a postseason age when the Yankees have struggled on offense as a team too many times, he’s remained dangerous.
Postseason Giancarlo might be the best Giancarlo.
In fact, his .964 OPS in the playoffs compares nicely with some big-time Yankee names. It’s not a complete list, just a cherry-picked few, but it’s pretty interesting. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, two of the greatest postseason beasts of all time, each had a 1.214 OPS in their October careers. Tough to match. But Stanton has a higher postseason OPS than Mickey Mantle (.908), who hit 18 World Series home runs, Derek Jeter (.838) and Joe DiMaggio (.760).
Make of it what you will, but that’s at least an indication of Stanton’s worth to the Yankees in these kinds of vital, elevated-heart-rate games.
Before Wednesday night’s game, Stanton said he went out for some early batting practice, hoping to get comfortable with the Kauffman Stadium backdrop and gauge how the ball traveled. He also liked the idea of getting in “work when it’s a little quiet, get nothing but work in and see what I can do.”
It worked. His homer came off a 3-1 slider by Bubic that he cracked 417 feet to left field. MLB’s Statcast measured the exit velocity at 112.9 miles per hour.
“It wasn’t a bad pitch,” Stanton said. “Just got under the shape, was on time and was able to scoop it out.”
He got his stolen base earlier in the game when the Royals were not paying him any mind on the bases and he bolted for second with an enormous jump. It was his first steal — it was his first attempt! — since 2020. He joked that his teammates’ reactions to the swipe were “probably better than the homer, to be honest.”
But that’s not really his game. And that’s OK. He’s not the plucky singles hitter who you hope can beat out an infield hit or two. His game is raw power, the kind he displayed in Game 3, and that fits with the Yankees, who led MLB with 237 homers.
If the Yankees get another dose in Game 4, they might be able to end the series. That’ll put them another step closer to somewhere really memorable and give Stanton, with or without another stolen base, more games to potentially wreck.
