WASHINGTON -- A mark that stood for 80 years was no barrier for Giancarlo Stanton. The power-hitting right fielder connected on a home run off Edwin Jackson in the first inning on Tuesday in the Marlins' 8-3 loss to Washington at Nationals Park. The drive to left field was Stanton's 51st homer of the season and his 18th in August, matching a Major League record for the month that was set by Rudy York in 1937.
"That's pretty cool," Stanton said. "Any Major League record is a pretty awesome feat. We didn't get the win out of it, but to be able to do that was pretty cool."
York set his milestone with the Tigers, and he stood alone until Stanton's shot that was projected by Statcast™ at 440 feet with an exit velocity of 112.8 mph.

"Oh man, you've got to make pitches," Jackson said. "That's the game of baseball, it's all about execution. When you don't execute, sometimes you get hurt, sometimes you don't. But with a guy like that who's hot like he is right now, you definitely have to make pitches and you can't leave balls over the middle. That pitch that he hit, that's the result."
According to Statcast™, Stanton now has 14 homers this year with an exit speed of 110 mph or more and 440 feet or farther. Joey Gallo of the Rangers is next with seven. Stanton previously held the season most of nine in 2015.
"Stanton is not the guy you pick to gauge yourself on, but he got a slider over the plate and Stanton knows what to do with it," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "So the key was that he led off a couple of innings and there wasn't anybody on base. That's the thing."
The previous high for homers in the National League in August was 17, shared by Sammy Sosa (2001) and Willie Mays (1965). The MLB mark for most homers in any month is 20 set by Sosa in June 1998.
Stanton's remarkable streak started on July 5 with his two-homer game at St. Louis. In the 48 games since, he's hit 30 home runs and driven in 60 runs.

Since moving to the second spot in the lineup on May 23, Stanton has 40 homers. Only two other players have hit at least 40 from the No. 2 spot, and both are in the Hall of Fame -- Ryne Sandberg had 40 in 1990, and Eddie Mathews finished with 46 in 1959.
Making a push to be the National League MVP, Stanton has 24 home runs that have put the Marlins ahead, and seven more that tied the game.
Stanton now has five home runs in 15 games against the Nationals this season, and 33 total in 101 career games vs. Washington. That matches his personal high against any opponent. The slugger also has that many in 105 meetings with the Mets.
Stanton has 20 home runs in his career at Nationals Park, the most of any Washington opponent.
Stanton drove in two runs on the night, giving him 110 RBIs. In the fifth inning, with Dee Gordon on third, Stanton just missed connecting on his second homer of the night. Instead, he lifted a sacrifice fly to left center. Statcast™ had the distance at 386 feet with an exit velocity of 110.8 mph, and a hit probability of 80 percent.

"We ain't perfect," Stanton said. "You still have to hit a 95-mph fastball. I hit it good. The difference of a homer is probably this much [fraction of an inch]. I'm not worried about that. You can't do it every time."