New York: New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton joined the 300-home run club, hitting a two-run shot in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night.
Stanton, who ended a 10-game homerless drought, sent a 3-1 pitch into the right-field seats off Tigers starter Francisco Liriano. The blast was Stanton’s 33rd of the season.
“I was just waiting for it to get over first, then enjoy 300 right there,” Stanton said.
“Yeah, it was cool. A special moment for me, and it helped that it put us up in the moment in the game, too.” The milestone homer came in Stanton’s 1,119th career game, making last year’s National League MVP and home run champ the fifth-fastest to reach 300. Alex Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, Ryan Howard and Ralph Kiner are the four players to reach the mark faster.
Stanton, 28, also becomes the ninth-youngest slugger to reach the mark.
“[As a rookie], I would’ve thought I could do it, but you never know,” Stanton said. “It’s been a long road so far to get to this point. Got an even longer one ahead.” The Yankees went on to lose to the Tigers on Thursday, 8-7.
