New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton can’t stop hitting dingers. Well, that’s if the Yankees get to keep playing, and they’re now one loss away from being eliminated from the postseason.
One night after sending a baseball to the moon (for one of two homers that he hit in that game), Stanton cranked a two-run blast in the eighth inning of Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.
He Got 5 (in-a-row) On It. pic.twitter.com/R3OhH4H4ZI
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 8, 2020
With that home run, Stanton becomes the first player in MLB history to homer in each of his team’s first five games of a postseason. And he doesn’t have just five home runs over those five games; he has six. That ties a Yankees single postseason record, joining Alex Rodriguez and Bernie Williams, who each did it over 15 games.
Giancarlo Stanton is the first player to HR in each of his team's first 5 postseason games.
His 6 HR this postseason (5 games) put him alongside Alex Rodriguez (2009, 15 games) and Bernie Williams (1996, 15 games) for most HR in a single postseason in Yankees franchise history. pic.twitter.com/srRm5Ozn83
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 8, 2020
So, Stanton is insanely hot right now, but it may not matter if the his teammates can’t start playing better- and immediately.
Tampa Bay takes a 2-1 series lead — in a best-of-five — into Game 4, and the Rays have now beaten the Yankees 10 times in 13 games this year. Jordan Montgomery starts for the Yankees in Game 4, and he put together a 5.11 ERA in the regular season. He was even much, much worse than that in his only start vs the Rays this season, allowing four earned runs in 2/3 innings pitched on Sept. 2. It will surely be an all hands on deck situation for the Yankees.
Beating the Rays in Game 4 will be a challenge for the Yankees, and beating the Rays twice in a row will particularly be difficult. The Rays didn’t go an AL-best 41-20 this season by accident, and they will be the clear favorites to represent the AL in the World Series if they can win one more vs New York.
