Stanton hits a milestone 50th homer
MIAMI — Giancarlo Stanton hit his 50th home run to break an eighth-inning tie, helping the Marlins sweep the Padres with a 6-2 victory Sunday.
Stanton became the first NL player to reach 50 homers since Prince Fielder hit 50 for Milwaukee in 2007. Stanton’s 17th homer in August tied him for the secondmost in MLB history in the month, behind Rudy York’s 18 in 1937.
With the score 2-2, Dee Gordon singled to lead off the eighth. Stanton then drove a 2-1 pitch from Clayton Richard (6-13) into the hedge in center field.
The milestone earned Stanton a curtain call from the crowd of 23,725. Fans roared as he celebrated with teammates after returning to the dugout, and he climbed to the top step and waved his batting helmet toward the stands.
That prompted chants of “MV-P! M-V-P!”
“For here, that’s about as lively as they’ve been,” Stanton said.
Stanton also walked, doubled home a run and singled in four plate appearances, hiking his average to .296. He increased his RBI total to 108, a career high.
After Stanton’s tiebreaking drive, Christian Yelich hit his first triple of the year and continued home on a throwing error, ending Richard’s outing. Derek Dietrich then homered off Carter Capps.
The Marlins’ three-game sweep and fourth consecutive victory overall gave them 13 wins in the past 16 games. They swept a series from the Padres for the first time since 2012.
Dan Straily, Kyle Barraclough (5-1) and two other pitchers combined on a seven-hitter. San Diego’s only runs came on Richard’s two-run homer, which barely cleared the 335-foot sign next to the right-field foul pole. His only other homer came in 2012.