Giancarlo Stanton smashes 3 homers, including grand slam, as Yankees pound Pirates
Giancarlo Stanton smashed three home runs, including a grand slam, that totaled 1,334 feet in distance in a stunning spring training display of ferocity and velocity by the New York Yankees slugger.
Stanton went 3 for 3 with eight RBIs as the Yankees rolled to a 12-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night in a Grapefruit League game at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
The Yankees rocked Pirates left-hander Marco Gonzales for nine runs on 10 hits, including four homers, and two walks in 3 2/3 innings.
The Yankees accounted for 14 hits, as their top four hitters went a combined 8 for 10. Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto both went 2 for 3, and Aaron Judge was 1 for 1 with a walk.
Gonzales struggled from the start, as Soto recovered from an 0-2 count to draw a walk in the first inning. Judge, in his return to the lineup, drove in Soto with a double for a 1-0 lead. Stanton followed by driving a 1-0 changeup 455 feet to center at a 110.4 mph exit velocity to stretch the Yankees’ lead to three runs, and Anthony Volpe hit a solo shot to make it 4-0.
The Yankees doubled their run total in the second inning. Torres singled to left, Soto doubled and Judge drew a walk to load the bases for Stanton, who smashed a full-count cutter 453 feet to left-center at an exit velocity of 113.2 mph for an 8-0 Yankees lead.
Stanton nearly dropped to a knee when swinging at an 0-2 changeup in the fourth, sending a solo homer 426 feet at an exit velocity of 108.8 mph. He added a sacrifice fly to score Torres in the sixth for a 10-0 lead. Anthony Rizzo doubled to drive in Soto, and Trent Grisham scored on a wild pitch by Quinn Priester to make it 12-0.
The Pirates managed only four hits. Ke’Bryan Hayes doubled in the first and is batting .615 (8 for 13) in his last four games, while Oneil Cruz doubled in the third to extend his hit streak to seven games and his on-base streak to 11.
Bailey Falter is expected to start against Ricky Tiedemann in a matchup of lefties when the Pirates play host to the Toronto Blue Jays at 6:05 p.m. Thursday at LECOM Park in Bradenton.
