Stanton crushes THREE home runs in power show for Yanks

TAMPA, Fla. -- Call it a hat trick! Giancarlo Stanton hit three long home runs in his first three trips to home plate on Wednesday evening, totaling more than 1,300 feet of combined distance.

Stanton hit a Statcast-projected 455-foot home run off the top of the batter’s eye in the first inning, tattooed a 453-foot grand slam in the second, then added a 426-foot solo shot in the fourth inning of the Yankees’ 12-0 Grapefruit League rout of the Pirates at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

“It is spring, but I haven’t hit three before [in a single game],” Stanton said. “So it’s cool, and it will be erased in about a week.”

Stanton has 36 career two-homer games in the Majors, but no three-homer games. All three of Wednesday’s blasts came off left-hander Marco Gonzales, who spun and watched helplessly as his pitches -- each one a changeup -- soared as no-doubters.

"Giancarlo just seems like he's not from this planet,” Gonzales said. “I've got to make up a pitch to throw to him next time."

Stanton’s third-inning grand slam immediately followed a hard foul that nearly clipped Gleyber Torres, the runner at third base. Stanton playfully gestured for Torres to move into foul territory, then launched a much safer drive for everyone, clearing the left-field scoreboard.

“I didn’t give him enough credit; I was tagging up on a couple of them,” said Aaron Judge, who doubled with a walk and two runs scored in his return to the lineup. “He got a little mad at me about that, so I won’t do that again. I’ll make sure I’m jogging around. It’s impressive to see him back doing what he does.”

Stanton went deep again in the fourth inning, driving a solo blast over the wall in center field.

Yankees pitcher Luke Weaver said that in the dugout, Stanton’s teammates encouraged him to try for an opposite-field homer in his final plate appearance. Instead, Stanton settled for a sacrifice fly to deep center field, capping his eight-RBI performance.

“Maybe he just spun off of it a little bit, trying to do it for the boys,” Weaver said. “I think he’s going to sleep OK tonight.”

The 34-year-old Stanton has been finding his stroke after a slow start to the spring. In his past four games, Stanton has collected eight hits in 14 at-bats (.571) with one double, four homers and 10 RBIs.

“He’s looked pretty good all spring, even from the start,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Tonight he was really precise, and when he’s like that, he’s pretty scary. He worked really hard this winter to put himself in a good spot.”

Stanton prioritized conditioning and diet this past winter as he looks to rebound from the worst offensive season of his career, when he batted .191 with 24 homers and 60 RBIs in 101 games. Judge said that the changes have been “impressive to see.”

“He said he was going to put in a lot of work in the offseason. He’s done it so far,” Judge said. “So I think we’re all excited to see what he does this year. He’s a big part of this team. When he’s rolling, we’re usually rolling as well.”

Stanton said that the biggest difference is that he now feels as though he is “back in [his] legs” at the plate, having been impacted by a left Achilles injury in 2022 and a left hamstring strain in '23.

“I think there were a lot of things that knocked him out, and then minor things that just keep you from being a Ferrari,” Boone said.

Judging by Wednesday’s results, this high-performance vehicle is ready to ride. Now it’s just a matter of keeping the rubber on the road.

“The way I feel moving around and everything is what I planned for in the offseason,” Stanton said. “It’s a good start, a good preview of spring. And now we’ve got months to keep it together.”