Stantonian Sweep? Can New York Yankees Win Game 3 Against Washington Nationals

Stantonian is the term used to categorize the blasts by Giancarlo Stanton. Last night’s Stantonian blast was 451 feet and 113 miles per hour. That Stantonian blast came after he doubled off the top of the wall with the bases loaded, narrowly missing a grand slam. That said, he is not in the batting order as the Yankees turn to the 13-5 Max Fried to sweep the three-game series against the Nationals. He would certainly like to have a Stantonian blast supporting him.

Cade Cavalli opposed Fried. Cavalli has a good story. Due to injuries, there were 1,076 days between his major league debut and his first start of the season (August 6). After the Yankees finish with the Nationals, they go to Chicago to play the White Sox. How many games do you think the Yankees will win there?

Lineups For Yanks in Support of Max Fried

The Nationals had James Wood leading off and playing Left Field. C.J. Abrams was the shortstop and batted second. Riley Adams batted third and was the designated hitter. He moved to catcher in the third inning. Luis Garcia Jr. batted third and was the second baseman. Dylan Crews played right field and batted fifth.

Andrés Chaparro was the first baseman and batted sixth. Drew Millas was the catcher and batted seventh. His spot in the lineup was replaced by the pitcher in the third inning. Bell hit in this spot, as did Robert Hassell III. Brady House was the third baseman and batted eighth. Jacob Young was the center fielder and batted ninth. 

For the Yankees, Trent Grisham played center field and led off. Jose Caballero replaced him in the lineup and played right field. Ben Rice was the first baseman and batted second. Aaron Judge was the designated hitter and batted third. Cody Bellinger was the right fielder and batted fourth. He moved to center field. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the second baseman and batted fifth. Jasson Dominguez was the left fielder and batted sixth. Anthony Volpe was the shortstop and batted seventh. Ryan McMahon was the third baseman and batted eighth. Austin Wells was the catcher and batted ninth. 

News and Notes: Boom! Stantonian Blast

The Stantonian blast, the 451-foot, 113 miles per hour home run by Giancarlo Stanton, was national news. He has been red hot since coming off the injured list. In 30 games since the All-Star break, Stanton is hitting .362 (34-for-94) with 13 home runs and 32 RBI, posting an on-base plus slugging of 1.248 in 105 plate appearances. He drove in all five of the Yankees’ runs last night, capped off by the Stantonian blast.

Coming into the game, the Yankees were second, behind the Seattle Mariners (and Cal Raleigh), with 49.0% of their runs coming via home run. Of late, many of those home runs have been Stantonian blasts.

Game Reaction

Stanton was not in the starting lineup for this day game after a night game. So, there was no threat of Stantonian blasts. It turns out, the Yankees did not need him. With home runs by Grisham, Judge, Bellinger, and McMahon in the first three innings, the Yankees now have 223 home runs. No other Major League Baseball team has 200.

The Nationals did something strange in this game. They batted their backup catcher, Adams, as the designated hitter. So, with catcher Millas in the lineup, the Nationals had two catchers in their starting lineup. It came back to haunt them as Millas was hurt in the third inning when he committed an error as a catcher. Adams came in as a catcher, and they had to have the pitcher bat.

Also in the third inning, the Nationals threw 77 pitches, and the Yankees batted 15 hitters. The romp was on. The Yankees did not need any Stantonian blasts today. On a day when the Yankees scored 11 runs, Volpe was 0-of-5. He did not make any errors in this game.

Scoring Summary

In the first inning, Grisham hit a solo home run. It was 1-0 Yankees. In the third inning, the Yankees scored nine runs. Judge hit a two-run home run as Bellinger scored as well. Then, Dominguez hit a double and Chisholm Jr. scored. Then, McMahon hit a three-run home run. Dominguez and Wells scored. It was 8-0 Yankees. Then, Rice hit a solo home run. It was 9-0 Yankees. Then Dominguez had an infield single, and Judge scored. It was 10-0 Yankees. In the fourth inning, Wells hit a solo home run. It was 11-0 Yankees.

In the sixth inning, Abrams singled, and Young scored. It was 11-1 Yankees. In the ninth inning, Chaparro hit a solo home run. The Yankees led 11-2. That is how it ended.

Conclusion

The Yankees killed the Nationals in this series. They hit all kinds of home runs, from wall scrappers to Stantonian blasts. The Nationals were just what the doctor ordered for the Yankees, who did exactly what they needed to do. What they need to do now is go to Chicago and win four games against the hapless White Sox.