LOS ANGELES (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton has been coming to Dodger Stadium since he was a kid. Seems like every time he comes back, he sends a special souvenir into the outfield seats. The opener of this Yankees-Dodgers World Series was no exception.
Stanton crushed a go-ahead, two-run drive in the sixth inning to put New York ahead, his latest smash for a New York team chasing its 28th title. It wasn't enough in a 6-3, 10-inning thriller of a loss to Los Angeles on Friday night. Maligned by Yankees fans for much of his time in the Bronx, Stanton homered for his fourth straight postseason game, a 116.
6 mph shot off Jack Flaherty that was the hardest-hit ball in the World Series since MLB started tracking in 2015. His six homers and 13 RBIs both top the Yankees in the postseason, and his 17 career postseason homers in 135 at-bats are among the top ratios in baseball history. He is the only player to twice homer in four straight postseason games.
Throughout October, his determination has been evident. “This ain’t the trophy I want," he said after Saturday night’s pennant-clinching win at Cleveland. “I want the next one.
” Born in Panorama City, California, and raised about 15 miles north of Dodger Stadium in the Tujanga neighborhood of Los Angeles, Stanton used to watch games from the left field pavilion. He hit a tying 457-foot home run into the pavilion off the Dodgers' Tony Gonsolin in the 2022 All-Star Game and has 10 homers in 25 regular-season games at Chavez Ravin.
