TORONTO — Aaron Judge’s two-run single gave the Yankees the lead in their 6-4 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday, but it was Giancarlo Stanton who sparked the Bombers’ rally earlier in the ninth inning.
Stanton began the frame with a 437-foot moonshot off Toronto righty Erik Swanson. The solo homer, hit 111.8 miles per hour to deep left, put the Yankees down 4-3 and ignited a lineup that had mostly been quiet all game.
“He damn near hit it out the stadium, so I think that’s what got everybody going,” Judge said. “All game, I feel like we were a little flat offensively, even on defense. We were talking every single inning, ‘Hey, just pick it up a notch.’ And then finally, Big G stepped up. He picked it up a notch for us.”
Giancarlo Stanton hits a bomb 💣 🚨#YANKSonYES LIVE https://t.co/aRu5PF6iD2 pic.twitter.com/TnkE4OboCR
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 17, 2024
Juan Soto, who smoked his own solo homer in the eighth, agreed: it was Stanton who set the comeback in motion.
Stanton said that his blast “definitely didn’t hurt” the Yankees, who avoided a sweep, but he made sure to shout out Soto, Judge and Jose Trevino, whose pinch-hit single tied the game at four.
“A bunch of guys were able to have good at-bats and put the ball in play and make it tough on them,” Stanton said. “Pure team win, for sure.”
However, Aaron Boone also credited Stanton with jumpstarting the offense.
“That was big,” the manager said. “It was like, ‘Alright, here we go.’ Thought G had good at-bats today. And then obviously really got into one there.”
Stanton also drew a walk and a strikeout while going 1-for-3 on Wednesday. He is now hitting .254/.302/.559.
Those are not special numbers, but the former MVP leads the Yankees with five home runs and has added 10 RBI.
Stanton has also been a lot better following a strikeout-out heavy start, hitting .343 with a 1.138 OPS, four home runs and nine RBI over his last nine games.
It’s a small sample, but also an encouraging one for a player that slashed .202/.286/.442 while battling injuries from 2022-2023.
“I’m seeing the ball well,” Stanton acknowledged. “My balance has been pretty good. So yeah, just keep building off of it.”
