Ask Aaron Boone what has gotten into Giancarlo Stanton currently, and the Yankees supervisor will let you know that the 35-year-old has “mastered” the psychological facet of baseball.
Such was the case on Tuesday earlier than the Yankees hosted the Nationals.
“He knows how to get himself ready,” Boone defined. “He knows how to prepare for a pitcher. He knows how to play the game within the game, that cat and mouse thing with the pitcher, really good.”
Boone delivered these feedback hours earlier than Stanton powered the Yankees’ 5-1 win over the Nationals, as he first emptied loaded bases with a 101.6-mph double off MacKenzie Gore within the third inning. A 112.7-mph, two-run homer off Orlando Ribalta adopted within the sixth, giving Stanton a season-high 5 RBI.
That earned extra reward from Boone postgame.
“I just think there’s an obsession with winning,” the skipper mentioned, “and nothing’s going to get in his way from doing everything possible to make sure he puts himself in a good spot.”
Stanton’s explosive night continued what has been a sensational surge, as he’s batting .313 with a 1.051 OPS, a 187 wRC+, 17 residence runs and 46 RBI over 51 video games as he hits flyballs at a career-high clip. All of his residence runs have come over his final 39 video games, a interval that has additionally seen him recurrently return to the outfield as a result of a flexor pressure has restricted Aaron Decide to DH duties.
“It’s been fun being able to contribute on both sides,” Stanton mentioned. “I’m just making sure I’m mentally prepared for all scenarios when the ball is hit towards me.”
Stanton has his personal lingering tennis elbow accidents to fret about, because the joints require constant upkeep after forcing the slugger to overlook the primary two months of the season. On Tuesday, he mentioned that he’s considered making up for misplaced time, although he has to stability these ideas with not attempting to do an excessive amount of.
“That means the most to me,” Stanton mentioned of constructing an influence, including that this appears like his finest offensive stretch as a Yankee. “You never want to miss time. Sitting back, watching, just understanding that I could be there contributing, it’s important that I’m able to do this now.”
It’s unbelievable that Stanton has been in a position to hit the way in which he has, as his elbows nonetheless trigger him ache. You wouldn’t realize it from watching his violent swing or his stats, although.
“He hits the ball harder than anyone I’ve ever seen,” Cody Bellinger mentioned, “so it’s really fun to watch, and it’s really impressive.”
“This, I feel like — and it’s saying a lot — may be as good as I’ve seen him,” Boone added of the 2017 Nationwide League MVP.
With Stanton fueling the offense, Luis Gil gave the Yankees 5 innings of one-run ball.
The righty, solely 5 begins into his season after struggling a lat damage in spring coaching, restricted harm, however he had a tough time together with his command for the third straight sport. Gil walked 4 batters whereas additionally totaling 5 hits, 5 strikeouts and 92 pitches earlier than turning issues over to the bullpen.
Gil additionally had one regarding mound go to, as Boone and a coach checked on the flame-thrower within the fourth after he walked two batters and struggled together with his velocity. Gil threw simply two fastballs above 93 mph within the inning, however he stayed within the sport and had no drawback cracking 96 mph the next inning.
Requested concerning the mound go to, Boone mentioned that Gil merely “backed off” his velocity in an effort to search out the strike zone. Gil, in the meantime, mentioned that he likes the place’s at bodily, signal for a Yankees crew that didn’t purchase a starter earlier than the commerce deadline.
“With every outing, I’m feeling stronger and more confident out there,” the pitcher mentioned. “There’s work to be done, but I feel like I’m on the right track, and there’s no doubt in my mind I’ll get back to that 100% level that I was before.”
The fifth body additionally noticed Bellinger gun down James Wooden on the plate, stopping a run on Gil’s line after the left fielder wasn’t practically as aggressive on an identical play within the third inning. That lack of urgency — and a double-clutch from Amed Rosario after reducing the throw off — allowed Robert Hassell III to attain the Nationals’ solely run of the sport after blowing by a cease signal.
“I was glad I got a second chance,” Bellinger mentioned, noting that the cease signal on the primary throw led him to hit the cut-off man as a substitute of throwing residence. “Ultimately, no matter what, you just gotta come up firing. So I came up a little soft, and that’s what I was chatting with Boonie about.”
With Tuesday’s victory, the third-place Yankees have now received 4 of their final 5 sequence, although all of these sequence wins have come towards sub-.500 groups. The one sequence loss in that stretch got here towards the second-place Purple Sox, who took 3-of-4 from the Yankees on the finish of final week.
With Boston additionally successful on Tuesday, the Yankees stay a half-game behind the Sox, who maintain the American League’s prime Wild Card spot.
The Yankees are additionally 4.5 video games again of the Blue Jays within the AL East.
Initially Revealed: August 26, 2025 at 10:09 PM EDT
