Giancarlo Stanton giveth and taketh away all in one inning
Giancarlo Stanton showed both sides of his game in Monday’s 4-2 loss in Game 3 of the World Series.
In a game when the desperate Yankees could barely get anything going against Walker Buehler or Los Angeles’ bullpen, Stanton’s double with one out in the bottom of the fourth and the Yankees trailing by three runs was one of their brief glimmers of hope versus the Dodgers.
After Jazz Chisholm Jr. lined out to right, Anthony Volpe singled to left.
With two outs, most runners would have easily scored on the play, but Stanton is no ordinary runner.
Still, third base coach Luis Rojas sent Stanton and tested the arm of Teoscar Hernandez in left.
Hernandez’s throw was just a bit off line but in time to nab Stanton, as Will Smith made the tag to end the inning and the Yankees’ only threat of the game until a late Alex Verdugo home run.
The send by Rojas was understandable because to that point, the increasingly feeble Yankees offense was mostly asleep.
Stanton’s double was the first hit allowed by Buehler, and he only gave up one more hit before leaving after five shutout innings.
Perhaps Anthony Rizzo would have delivered with runners on the corners and two outs against Buehler if given the chance, but the first baseman is hobbled by two fractured fingers in his right hand and didn’t get a hit in a pair of at bats with Buehler on the mound.
As for Stanton, he’s been so plagued by leg injuries during his Yankees tenure, he runs at the same pace in virtually every situation.
“It is something we’ve kind of got to live with,’’ Aaron Boone said before the postseason of Stanton’s lack of speed. “Whether you’ve seen it over the years with a particular player that is incredibly slow that’s an impactful player, it’s something we’ve got to live with.”
Stanton has lived up to the impactful part, joining Juan Soto as the main forces of the Yankee offense and mostly carrying them through the ALDS against the Royals and ALCS versus Cleveland.
He has six homers and only added to his October resume, but the Yankees can’t afford any slip-ups at this point and another deficiency was exposed Monday.
