Gian-BOMB! Stanton smashes 447-foot HR

NEW YORK -- While the 45,428 fans that packed Yankee Stadium for Saturday’s chilly 8-0 win over the Orioles weren’t lucky enough to witness any history-setting home runs, they were treated to a plenty impressive big fly from the Yankees’ other big bopper. Remember him?

Giancarlo Stanton provided all the offense the Yankees needed behind a lights-out Nestor Cortes on a relatively quiet day from Aaron Judge, crushing a mammoth solo homer as part of New York’s three-run first inning against Austin Voth. Stanton’s 29th home run of the season was classic Stanton, tagged at an exit velocity of 112.8 mph and launched like a rocket a Statcast-projected 447 feet into the left-field bleachers.

Stanton also singled in the fifth as part of the Yankees’ 14-hit barrage on Orioles pitching, providing another great sign on the first day of October. They hope to see more swings like that from their powerful designated hitter in much bigger games this month.

“Definitely good to see,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I know he wants to get some traction going here heading into the postseason. Good to see him get a really good swing off to start off the day.”

It has been a tough go for Stanton since returning from the injured list on Aug. 25, with the slugger hitting .154 (16-for-104) with five home runs and 42 strikeouts in his last 28 games (including Saturday). He’s had some big moments, like his Sept. 20 walk-off grand slam against the Pirates. But it has still been a prolonged slump down the stretch of an injury-interrupted year for Stanton, which is part of the reason the Yankees are considering using Matt Carpenter as their DH in the upcoming American League Division Series.

Carpenter’s health and ability to ramp up quickly at an alternate site in Somerset, N.J., will factor into whether that comes to pass, but how Stanton finishes the season at the plate will, too. Asked what Saturday’s big swing says about how he’s feeling, Stanton said “that I’m getting in my feet a little better.”

“I just got to square up more balls throughout the game and just have good at-bats throughout the whole game,” Stanton said. “Staying in [my feet] instead of coming up a little bit at my striking point -- that's going to be a key moving forward.”

If nothing else, Saturday’s blast provided a reminder of Stanton’s unique ability to do damage when that swing is right. The 447-foot shot was Stanton’s longest of the season, and his 56th homer of at least 440 feet since 2015. Nobody else has more than 35 (postseason included). It was also his 89th career home run with a 112 mph-plus exit velocity. Nobody else has more than 58.

“Hopefully these little things that start happening start moving him into a different direction,” Boone said. “We’ve all seen it against the best in postseason situations. When he’s locked in, it’s a different level. So we’ll keep working to try to get him there. Hopefully today is him moving towards that.”

Asked how important it is for him to build off this momentum heading into the postseason, Stanton called it “huge.”

“These are all the practice at-bats for that, and I’ve got a couple more days to do so,” Stanton said. “One swing definitely helps, but you want to come back with the rest of the game. You don’t want to have just one good at-bat and four not. I think [it’s important] to have good at-bats throughout and keep pushing.”