Stanton, Gordon showcase All-Star value
Giancarlo swats MLB-best 24th HR; Dee racks up 14th 3-hit game
MIAMI -- Sure, the game was already out of hand when Giancarlo Stanton launched his Major League-leading 24th home run of the season in the fifth inning of the Marlins' 12-2 win on Tuesday night. But according to Stanton, his three-run shot that gave Miami an 11-run cushion still served a purpose.
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"I just put the icing on the cake," he said.
The home run came on a day when Stanton found out he fell to fourth place in votes among National League outfielders in the latest All-Star Game ballots. He's been passed by Giants outfielder Nori Aoki and needs help to get in the All-Star starting lineup.
Teammate Dee Gordon also continued to bolster his All-Star resume, despite the fact that he already remained the leading vote-getter at second base in the latest ballot update. Gordon went 3-for-5 on Tuesday, turning in his Major League-leading 14th three-hit game of the season.
Video: NYY@MIA: Gordon's RBI single makes it 7-0 in the 1st
Gordon now has at least one hit in 51 of his 62 games this year, including multi-hit efforts in 27 of those contests. He's now hitting a blistering .357 and has a Major League-best 96 hits, 10 more than any other player.
Gordon's latest three-hit excursion began when he drove in a run with an RBI single in the midst of that eight-run first inning. He added another single in the third inning and a third base knock in the fifth before coming around to score his second run of the game on Stanton's homer.
As for that home run, the blast came off of Yankees reliever Chris Martin and landed in the right-field seats. The opposite-field shot was majestic, crashing into a scoreboard as it nearly landed in the upper deck.