Yankees: Giancarlo Stanton walks it off then disappears when dodging ice bath

The New York Yankees were in for a very frustrating evening against John Means and the Baltimore Orioles. Outside of a Giancarlo Stanton blast in the middle of the afternoon, many of New York’s big bats managed to fall silent, which forced this game to be settled in extra innings.

In another display of some brutal hitting with runners in scoring position, which encapsulates why it has been impossible for this team to challenge Tampa Bay at the very top of the division, it took 11 innings and some more poor play from the Baltimore bullpen to settle this one.

Stanton, who ended August on a tear that is without question one of the finest extended streaks of hitting he has had since he put on the pinstripes, continued his hot hitting by coming through in the clutch to give Aaron Boone and the team a win.

Stanton roped a meatball of a sinker from Orioles reliever Dillon Tate right back up the middle. The hit scored Aaron Judge from second base, and the Yankees won the game 4-3.

Giancarlo Stanton gave the Yankees a walk-off thanks to Tyler Wade’s slide.

Stanton may have walked things off in the 11th, but it was Wade who tied the game at 3-3 in the 10th inning with a slide that looked more at home in a Matrix movie than an MLB game. He deserved a good chunk of credit for getting Stanton into a spot where he could deliver that knockout punch.

How did Stanton choose to celebrate this display of clutch hitting? Well, he literally vanished into thin air, as he managed to evade an ice bath from Brett Gardner in the most befuddling way possible.

That’s one way to make an exit.

Stanton spent most of the beginning of the season as the designated hitter, though Boone has put him in the outfield with increasing regularity lately. That has coincided with a stretch that proves Stanton can come through in the clutch while maintaining his prodigious power.

Considering how players like Joey Gallo hit in this game, it is inarguable that New York would’ve lost without Stanton’s bat in the lineup.

The Yankees needed to win these games against a Baltimore team that is going nowhere fast, and Stanton made sure that New York was able to grab a win in a game that saw Baltimore throw out their unquestioned best pitcher in Means. That’s how you set the tone for the rest of this important series.

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