The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Marlins’ Stanton hits homer No. 50
Golf
Roused from its apathy JOHNSON STUNS SPIETH for baseball, South » In a FedEx Cup playoff Florida let out a long roar opener that felt like Aug. 27 for Giancarlo a heavyweight bout, Stanton, who responded Dustin Johnson delivered with a wave from the top back-to-back blows step of the dugout, affording to beat Jordan Spieth in the crowd a good The Northern Trust. look at the sport’s newest One was a putt from 50-homer man. 18 feet.
Stanton reached the The other was a drive round number with a that traveled 341 yards. tiebreaking drive in the Down to his last shot, eighth inning, helping Johnson watched his 18foot the surprising Miami par putt stay on the Marlins sweep the San high side of the hole and Diego Padres with a 6-2 thought for sure it would victory. miss.
Baseball fever broke He took two steps of out at Marlins Park, hope to the right, and where Stanton earned then pumped his fist in a curtain call for the a rare show of emotion first time since the place when it swirled around opened in 2012. and dropped in the back
“For here, that’s about side of the cup for a 4-under as lively as they’ve been,” 66 to force a playoff. he said. Given new life, Johnson
The crowd of 23,725 relied on his strength was typical for the attendance-challenged and powered a drive over the lake to the far edge of Marlins, but fans went the fairway. wild when Stanton became It was the longest the first National drive all week on the League player to reach 18th hole, and it left him 50 homers since Prince a 60-degree wedge to 4 Fielder hit 50 for Milwaukee feet for birdie and a victory in 2007. he badly needed.
With the score 2-all, The No. 1 player in the Dee Gordon singled golf finally looked the to lead off the eighth. part again. Stanton then drove a 2-1 “It was fun to be in slider from Clayton Richard the hunt again and know (6-13) into the hedge that my game is going to in center field. hold up under pressure,”
Fans roared as Stanton Johnson said. celebrated with teammates after returning to the dugout, and the curtain call prompted chants of “MV-P! M-V-P!”
“He deserves it,” Gordon said. “I don’t know who else deserves it more.”
“We’re a bit early,” Stanton said with a chuckle, “but it’s cool that they’re showing love like that. I really appreciate it.”
Stanton also walked, doubled home a run and singled, going 3 for 3 to hike his average to .296. He increased his RBI total to 108, a career high.
Little League
JAPAN WINS LLWS » Tsubasa Tomii buckled down after allowing two first-inning home runs and Japan hit three homers in the fourth and won the Little League World Series title with a 12-2 victory over Lufkin, Texas.
Keitaro Miyahara laced a two-run triple with two outs in the second to tie it at 2, and hit a solo shot in the fourth after fouling a ball off his foot earlier in the atbat. Daisuke Hashimoto and Natsuki Yajima also homered in the fourth.