With a player of Giancarlo Stanton’s caliber and stature, it was only a matter of time before he connected on a ball and watched it fly over the fence.
That moment came Friday night.
Stanton homered for the first time in 50 at-bats in the Yankees’ 8-5 loss to the Blue Jays at the Stadium. With the game tied at 2 in the bottom of the third inning, the towering slugger drove an 87-mph fastball from Toronto starter Marco Estrada into the right-field seats.
As Stanton jogged around the bases, fans showered him with a rousing ovation. This is the scene many expected to see over and over again in the Bronx this season. But so far, Stanton has received more boos than cheers at his home stadium. Before Friday night, Stanton’s last home run came on April 4 against the Rays.
“We’re all here for the same goal,” Stanton said. “So for me to help contribute, even though we didn’t get the win, it was good.”
Friday night’s two-run shot came as part of a natural progression for Stanton, who is now hitting .205 with four homers on the season.
Stanton went 1-for-3 with a walk and an infield single in Thursday’s win over Toronto, which would usually amount to an underwhelming performance, but three of his four plate appearances went to full counts. And after that game, Aaron Boone commended Stanton for displaying a better handle of the strike zone in his at-bats.
Stanton’s improved vision and plate discipline continued into Friday. He also narrowly missed a home run in the first inning on a long fly ball to center field.
“The pitch recognition, controlling the zone, I thought he did more of that tonight,” Boone said. “Hopefully he’s gaining a little bit of traction, starting to come around a little bit, and obviously that’s huge for us. It’s nice to see him having a couple days of quality at-bats.”
In the clubhouse after the loss Friday night, Stanton said repeatedly that he is “seeing the ball better.”
When asked to elaborate on what goes into that improvement, Stanton added, “It’s an interesting thing. But you got to have the right balance and find the right release points and whatnot. So sometimes you lose that a little bit and you got to reconnect.”
Stanton could very well be nearing a breakout stretch.
“You just try to simplify things,” Stanton said. “You block out all the noise as much as possible and you just remember this is a kid’s game, remember how you were back when you were a kid and you go out there and prepare and let what happens happen.”
