Giancarlo Stanton drives in three runs with homer, double as Yankees win 10th straight

ATLANTA — Maybe all Giancarlo Stanton needed was the regular action in the outfield that he’s been getting.

Primarily relegated to the designated hitter role since joining the Yankees before the 2018 season, Stanton is enjoying one of his best stretches at the plate in his time in the Bronx. And it’s coincided with him receiving somewhat consistent reps in the field.

That continued in a big way Monday night. Stanton hit a solo homer to rightfield in the second inning, then roped a two-out, two-run double in the sixth to break a tie and lift the Yankees to their 10th straight victory, a 5-1 decision over Atlanta in front of 39,176 at Truist Park.

"That’s what I like. I like winning. We like winning. Winning is fun," said Gary Sanchez, whose bases-loaded single with two outs in the eighth made it 5-1.

The Yankees (73-52), who hold the top spot in the American League wild-card race, won for the 32nd time in the last 43 games and climbed within four games of the AL East-leading Rays, who were idle.

The Yankees, who are on a 22-5 streak, ended the nine-game winning streak Atlanta (68-57) brought into the night. It was the third game in MLB history — and first since Sept. 7, 1901, when the Pirates played the Phillies — in which both teams entered with at least a nine-game winning streak.

Stanton went 2-for-3 with three RBIs before being double-switched out of the game in the sixth. He improved to 24-for-76 (.316) with five homers and 18 RBIs in his last 23 games, a stretch that began when he started in the field on July 30 in Miami, his first time doing so since Game 1 of the 2019 ALCS.

"I don’t know," Aaron Boone said of a possible correlation between Stanton’s success at the plate and playing the outfield. "I know he’s enjoyed being out there, and I know his body has handled it well . . . It’s very possible that being out there has helped him a little bit, but I don’t think it’s a definitive yes or no."

Stanton said he believes it has been a benefit. "I think it’s helped, kind of just not focusing on hitting," he said. "I mean, you always want to be your best in the box and feel like [you’re] in the best mind frame, but that also means turning it off for a second, using that focus somewhere else [in the field]. So being out there, you’ve obviously got to worry about what position you’re [in], the flight of each ball, the situations out there. So yeah, it helps in some way."

Jordan Montgomery, making his second start since coming off the COVID-19 injured list, allowed one run, two hits and four walks in five innings. He improved to 5-5 with a 3.69 ERA in what has been an underrated season for the lefthander.

"Didn’t really have much going today," said Montgomery, still battling fatigue from his bout with COVID-19, "but we won."

Jonathan Loaisiga struck out four in two scoreless innings. Wandy Peralta added a scoreless eighth and Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect ninth. 

Stanton led off the second by slicing a 2-and-2 slider to right for his 21st homer and a 1-0 lead. Atlanta tied it in the bottom half when Dansby Swanson led off and hit a first-pitch curveball to center for his 25th homer and 10th since the All-Star break.

In the sixth, DJ LeMahieu got hit by a pitch and Joey Gallo worked a two-out walk. Stanton then ripped a 2-and-1 slider to the base of the wall in left for a two-run lead.

Sanchez grounded a two-out, two-run single between shortstop Swanson and overshifted second baseman Ozzie Albies with the bases loaded in the eighth to make it 5-1.

Among the early non-offense highlights for the Yankees were the 6-5, 250-pound Gallo making a diving catch near the foul line in left in the second and the 6-7, 282-pound Judge making a running catch near the wall in center (the 6-6, 245-pound Stanton had an uneventful evening in right).

It was all part of another victorious night for the Yankees, another night in which there were a myriad of contributors.

"What’s been neat about it is it’s been the entire roster," Boone said. "All 26 guys in there are playing important roles in this and having big hands in helping us win ballgames. And that’s a fun thing to be a part of."

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.