Yankees Highlights: Giancarlo Stanton is the best, even when the Yanks lose

Worst loss of the season? Worst loss of the season.

Kidding aside, the Yankees had a clunker on Saturday night. It was ugly. Those games happen. Shake it off and try again tomorrow. We’ll have a full recap of tonight’s 9-2 loss up shortly, but in the meantime, here are some highlights.

Winner of the Game

The Giancarlo Stanton revenge tour has started, and it is wonderful.

Stanton went 2-for-3 with a walk, as well as one of the most impressive home runs I’ve ever seen. The solo shot off Erick Fedde in the top of the fourth traveled 483 feet! At 121.3 mph, the dinger had the second-highest exit velocity of the Statcast era, behind only...Stanton himself! He launched a ball 121.7 mph in 2018. It’s amazing what that man can do to baseballs.

Off the field, Stanton and Aaron Hicks took a knee during the national anthem. They demonstrated their beliefs, put courage behind their convictions, and pushed the discourse to a conversation about a more equitable America. I’m extremely proud of them.

Honorable Mention: Mike King

Loser of the Game

James Paxton and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad start.

Paxton only lasted one inning, plus three batters in the second. Three straight singles loaded the bases, and that was enough for Aaron Boone to pull him. Big Maple had severely diminished velocity, with his fastball averaging nearly 4 mph slower than last year. Concerning! The Yankees’ bullpen let the game get away from them, but Paxton put them at an early disadvantage, and his velocity trouble is currently more concerning than the results.

Honorable Mention: The shallow end of the Yankees’ bullpen, anyone who decided to pitch to Victor Robles

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