GIANCARLO: OFF THE WALL
Dusts off after crash, then plays the hero
Giancarlo Stanton crashed into the outfield wall in the seventh inning, left shoulder first, unable to grab a ball off the bat of Nick Markakis, which hit off the top of the fence and went out for a two-run homer that cut the Yankees' lead to one.
Assistant trainer Tim Lentych jogged out to right field to check on Stanton as a precautionary measure, asking the right fielder what inning it was, how many outs there were and what day of the week it was.
“I didn't know any of them,” Stanton joked.
He could laugh because he was fine, and it sure looked that way two pitches later when he leapt at the wall to record an out and kept Kurt Suzuki from getting an extra-base hit. He again appeared mighty healthy in the eighth when he cracked a two-run homer to right, providing crucial insurance runs in the Yankees' 8-5 win Tuesday over Atlanta.
Stanton said his shoulder will not be an issue. After arriving in a blockbuster trade in the offseason, Stanton has 20 homers and 48 RBI in 82 appearances. Over his last 29 games he's hitting .316 with nine homers, 19 RBI, 16 runs and a .988 OPS.
Primarily a right fielder throughout his tenure with the Marlins, Stanton has mostly been the DH or played left field
as a Yankee with Aaron Judge regularly occupying right, but Judge was the DH Tuesday. Stanton hasn’t had much experience with the short right-field porch in the Bronx, but he says he’s comfortable playing there.
Crashing into any outfield wall is a concern, he says.
“Yeah, you’re worried about it. You don’t want to hit it hard, but you want to put your body in the best position to get the ball and kind of spin off the wall if you can,” Stanton said.
He shook it off, made a nice play and came through with a clutch hit. Aaron Boone has been impressed with the defense of both Stanton and Judge, though their plaudits usually are about their bats.
“They both play such a good outfield for being big and the story being about their power at the plate, they’re really good outfielders,” Boone said.
“Giancarlo bouncing around left to right, every time wherever we put him in left or right he’s usually made some really good plays whenever he’s played, and (Tuesday) was no different.”