As Giancarlo Stanton stepped to the plate in the fifth inning on Tuesday night, Aaron Boone told Brad Ausmus that the slugger was about to go deep.
The manager nailed that prediction, as Stanton sent a first-pitch slider from Justin Verlander over the left field fence at Yankees Stadium. What Boone didn’t expect, however, was the solo homer’s flight path.
A rising rocket, the ball’s distance didn’t turn any heads. But Stanton’s 118.8-mph exit velocity gave him the hardest-hit homer of the season.
“I didn’t know it was going to be of the two-iron variety where it’s base hit to left, ‘Oops, into the bullpen,’” Boone said after a series-opening win over the Astros. “He’s a unicorn in that way. He’s weird. It’s just absolutely remarkable to hit a ball at that trajectory the way he did. It’s a special, special talent.”
118.8 mph. 421 ft.
Big G Blast 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1vY6UWhID6
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 8, 2024
Boone has made a habit of calling Stanton “weird” over the years, and he did so again on Wednesday when the designated hitter’s eighth dinger of the season topped his seventh.
With Juan Soto and Aaron Judge having already homered in another win over Houston, Stanton launched a heat-seeking missile off Spencer Arrighetti in the third inning. With a 119.9-mph exit velo, Stanton recorded the hardest-hit knock of any kind this season, surpassing a 119.2-mph single that Shohei Ohtani hit in late April.
This time, the solo homer traveled 447 feet before landing in the second deck in left.
“If you hit one 120, you win,” Boone said when asked who had the most impressive home run on Wednesday.
Added Judge: “The night before he had the hardest hit in baseball, and then he outdid himself again tonight. Just impressive.”
119.9 mph Blast.
Big G one-ups himself 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wElCFgpCG9
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 8, 2024
Judge’s homer, also a third-inning solo shot, traveled 404 feet at 106.4 mph. Meanwhile, Soto went the other way in the first inning, shooting a two-run blast 440 feet at 113.4 mph.
Soto’s overall performance — he recorded five RBI — proved to be the most spectacular in Wednesday’s win, but he nonetheless found himself stunned by Stanton’s latest rocket.
“How hard he hits the ball, it’s just amazing,” Soto said. “You don’t see guys hitting balls 120 every day.”
Even after some down years, Stanton still has the ability to amaze when his barrel meets the ball.
That’s not to say that he’s back to being an MVP-caliber player after two down years in 2022 and 2023, a stretch that saw Stanton hit .200/.277/.433 while battling injuries. The 34-year-old, as of Thursday morning, was only hitting .228 with a .286 on-base percentage this season.
Those aren’t good numbers, but Stanton, who didn’t speak following Tuesday and Wednesday’s games, has stayed healthy thus far. And his eight homers were tied with Judge for second on the Yankees. His 20 RBI were tied with Anthony Rizzo for third on the team.
While Stanton has been far from perfect, he has provided more than just a few Statcast highlights in the season’s early going. Those contributions have certainly been welcomed by one of baseball’s best offenses.
“It’s been fun to watch him do his thing this year for sure,” Judge said, “especially trying to bounce back after last year.”
Burdi Coming Back
Boone said Thursday that Nick Burdi is expected to rejoin the Yankees’ bullpen in Tampa on Friday.
The reliever hasn’t pitched in a big league game since April 16 thanks to hip inflammation. Burdi threw in a Triple-A rehab game on Tuesday, striking out the side in his lone inning of work.
With Burdi returning, the Yankees demoted Ron Marinaccio after the reliever threw a scoreless inning in Thursday’s loss to the Astros. The righty has a 1.42 ERA in the majors this season, but he also has options. By sending Marinaccio down, the Yankees were able to maintain their current bullpen depth.
Colby Claimed
The Yankees claimed Colby White off waivers from the Rays on Thursday, but the right-handed pitcher won’t impact the upcoming series in Tampa. The Yankees assigned White to Double-A Somerset.
The 25-year-old hasn’t pitched above Triple-A yet. White had a 17.61 ERA over nine games there this season, but he owns a 2.83 ERA over his pro career, which began in 2019.
