Giancarlo Stanton drills 400th home run in Yankees’ 5-1 win over Tigers
NEW YORK — Giancarlo Stanton achieved a personal milestone in typical fashion on Tuesday, drilling a ball to left field for the 400th home run of his career.
Stanton’s two-run blast off Tigers reliever José Cisnero traveled 451 feet at 116.8 miles per hour. It also broke a 1-1 tie in what became a 5-1, series-opening win for the now-.500 Yankees.
Stanton, who has struggled for most of the season, received a loud curtain call ovation following the dinger. It was a nice moment for a player who has heard his fair share of boos throughout his Yankees tenure.
Stanton, playing in the 1,520th game of his career, became the fourth-fastest player to reach 400 longballs. The only players ahead of him are Mark McGwire (1,412 games), Babe Ruth (1,475) and Alex Rodriguez (1,489). Stanton also became the 58th player in baseball history to record the round number, and the 10th to do so as a Yankee.
Now 33 years old, he has a shot at 500 homers, too.
While Stanton had the most significant bomb of the night, DJ LeMahieu got the scoring started with a leadoff home run off Alex Faedo, who threw only 2 2/3 innings. LeMahieu has been on a bit of a power surge, tallying seven longballs in his last 13 games.
Gleyber Torres added two more runs in the eighth with a double.
Gerrit Cole, meanwhile, continued his bid for his first Cy Young award.
The Yankees ace permitted just one run over six innings. He also allowed eight hits, walked none and struck out seven over 104 pitches while lowering his ERA to 2.90.
Detroit’s only run off Cole came courtesy of Miguel Cabrera, who singled in the sixth after Kerry Carpenter tripled. The 40-year-old Cabrera, playing in his final games at Yankee Stadium before retirement, received multiple gifts from the Yankees prior to the game.
While the Yankees showered Cabrera, it was a man half his age that fans came out to see. Jasson Domínguez, following a successful first weekend in Houston, made his Yankee Stadium debut on Tuesday.
Nicknamed The Martian, Domínguez greeted the Bronx’s Bleacher Creatures with an E.T.-like gesture before going 1 for 4 in his first game in pinstripes.
With the Yankees on a four-game winning streak, they’ll turn their attention to Matt Manning on Wednesday. Clarke Schmidt will start for the Yanks.
Thursday’s series finale will feature a pitching matchup between Carlos Rodón and Eduardo Rodriguez.
