YANKS’ BATS COME ALIVE:
Stanton, Gary, Judge blast boo-birds, Rays
Giancarlo Stanton had drawn the ire of some angry Yankees fans on Tuesday — booed by The Bronx faithful after amassing a Platinum Sombrero in a woeful home debut that figures to go down in pinstriped infamy.
But all their resentment toward him was gone in a New York minute on Wednesday — the moment the reigning NL MVP turned on an ill-advised 1-2 hanger from Rays lefty Blake Snell and blasted it all the way to Stanton Island.
Stanton handled all the boo-birds well, showing accountability for his poor performance and even suggesting he deserved them. “I was awful,” admitted Stanton after he struck out in all five of his at-bats.
Redemption came the following afternoon — in the form of a 458-foot, two-run homer in the first inning that exited his bat with a velocity of 117.9 mph and landed in the second deck in left. The jeers had turned to cheers.
Stanton emphatically flipped his bat and trotted around the bases, taking an imaginary handoff from third-base coach Phil Nevin — harkening back to his old high-school football days, something he’s always done in the majors — before crossing the plate.
After going down 1-0, the Yankees took the lead and never looked back, beating the lowly Rays 7-2.
And even though Stanton K’d in each of his next three ABs, there were no boos this time around. In this whathave-you-done-for-me-lately city, Stanton had done enough.
“You have bad days,” said Stanton, who hit two home runs on Opening Day. “It’s fine.”
The 29-year-old knew what he was getting himself into here. He waived his notrade clause to give himself an opportunity to finally make the playoffs after all those years participating in the Miami circus. It meant moving from right to DH/left, an adjustment that has come with its share of ups and downs. On Wednesday, Stanton appeared to take a strange route on C.J. Cron’s lined RBI double in the
first, though he said it was simply hit hard and went over his head.
The Bombers are paying Stanton an average of $26.5 million per season for the next decade if he doesn’t opt out. The fans demand excellence. They expect him to help bring World Series championship No. 28 to The Bronx. Stanton’s opposite-field approach was built for this band box — some scouts think 60 homers is a very realistic number as a result. But man, can he turn on a baseball, displaying that seemingly effortless power. “‘G’ set the tone,” Aaron Boone said. “When he squares it up, he really impacts it.”
Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez both hit their first homers of 2018 as the righty power trio all went deep in the same game, each connecting for a two-run shot. “Hopefully we’ll put some back-to-back-to-backs in there,” Stanton said. “It’s good that we all got one to help the team.”
Judge had just endured a tough series in Toronto, while Sanchez was in an 0-for17 slide before he went yard. But together, along with Didi Gregorius, they form an embarrassment of riches, making life hell on pitchers like Snell by grinding away during at-bats. Plus, if one is slumping, the others are capably of picking him up in a big way.
The latest example: Gregorius went hitless following his two-homer, eight-RBI career day. It didn’t matter. “They’re going to make you pay when you make a mistake,” Boone said.
Luis Severino was dominant on the mound, allowing two earned runs and striking out seven over 71⁄3 innings. “That’s what an ace looks like out there,” Boone said.
“You have to try to find something to do out there,” said Stanton of being behind Severino. “You’re not going to get too many hard-hit balls. He was dominant, but that’s par for the course.”
Next up: the Orioles, a pitching-starved team Judge and the rest of his teammates feasted on in 2017. Manny Machado will be here, the 2019 free-agent-to-be already having been recruited by No. 99.
The Yankees, of course, already have plenty of superstars — including Stanton, who has suddenly become a beloved Bomber once more. Then again, there’s always tomorrow.