Stanton filling ‘Stat’ sheet with big blasts
Giancarlo Stanton’s feats of Statcast added another level to the Yankees’ victory Saturday night.
As part of the Yankees’ six-homer outburst in an 8-0 win over the Cubs, Stanton clubbed the loudest — a 119.8 mph shot off the bat that registered as the hardest-hit ball in MLB this season, according to Statcast.
“We all just kind of look at each other, he gets back and I’m like, ‘You’re weird,’ ” manager Aaron Boone said. “Unicorn. He’s weird.”
Stanton clobbered the ball so hard it caromed off a sign on the second deck and landed back in left field.
The blast was the hardest hit in the majors since last September, when Stanton drilled a 120.3 mph single.
“I caught how hard it was, but it’s still only worth one and just helped us add to the win,” Stanton said. “I don’t always know what it feels like, to be honest. … It’s a cool little euphoric feeling.”
During the Statcast era (since 2015), there have been just 17 hits with an exit velocity of at least 119.8 mph. Stanton owns 14 of them, while teammate Aaron Judge is responsible for the other three.
“It’s quite a sight,” Judge said. “You try to soak it all in in the moment, because when he hits one like that, you don’t see that every day.”
Aroldis Chapman , on Saturday, threw his first bullpen session since he went on the injured list with Achilles tendinitis, and left the Yankees encouraged.
The left-handed reliever threw just shy of 25 pitches and came out of it without any issues, according to pitching coach Matt Blake, in the first step toward Chapman’s eventual return to the Yankees bullpen.
“I thought it went really well,” Blake said. “The intensity was high. The velo was good. He was averaging like 95-96 [mph] in the pen, which is probably where he was in games for a portion of the season.”
Chapman will throw another session on Monday or Tuesday, according to Blake. That could be followed by a live batting practice session before the Yankees determine the next step.
What role Chapman will returns in is less clear, though it is unlikely to be as the closer. Clay Holmes has stepped into that spot and thrived. Either way, there is value for the Yankees in adding a more effective Chapman back to their bullpen.
“I think there were some little things that were starting to creep into his delivery,” Blake said. “It’s hard to separate out from the Achilles issue, if that was part of it, or if the delivery was getting sideways on its own. But just a reset, making sure everything’s in working order and then add a couple cues for him to keep things tight.”
Jonathan Loaisiga, who is on the IL with right shoulder inflammation, is expected to rejoin the team on Sunday after tending to a family matter in Nicaragua.