The New York Yankees ended up losing on Tuesday 7-5 against the Tampa Bay Rays. The early-inning bad performances by Deivi Garcia and, especially, J.A. Happ, were too much to overcome when all was said and done.
However, that doesn’t take anything away from Giancarlo Stanton. With two home runs against formidable Rays’ starter Tyler Glasnow, the Yankees’ slugger made sure his team stayed in the game all by himself.
Unfortunately, some Yankees’ fans have memories of Stanton failing in the 2018 postseason and failing to stay healthy in 2019 and 2020. The first one represents an extremely small sample, and the second one is, as unbelievable as it may sound, not his fault.
He suffered all spring from a calf issue, and once the regular season started, he missed lots of games with a hamstring strain. Before the latter ailment, he was hitting well, and returned in time to finish with a .250/.387/.500 line with a .379 wOBA, a 143 wRC+ and four homers in 23 games.
The New York Yankees’ hottest slugger
But right now, in the playoffs, Stanton is a man on a mission. He wants to prove to the New York Yankees, his fellow players and the fanbase that he can carry the team in his back when he’s on.
In the 2020 postseason so far (four games) the Yankees’ slugger is hitting .333/.421/1.333 with five homers, six runs and 11 RBI. He has been a one-man wrecking crew. And hopefully, the best is yet to come.
Both of his homers last night were impressive, and proof that nobody in the major leagues can hit the ball harder than him when he’s right, not even Aaron Judge. His first dinger left the bat at 114 mph, and the second at 118 mph, traveling an astounding 458 feet.
Stanton is carrying the Yankees’ offense right now. Let’s hope the pitching corps can step up.