Stanton hits 4th HR in 4 at-bats for No. 200
Slugger walks in first, then belts 2 blasts after homering in final 2 at-bats Tuesday
NEW YORK -- Home runs tend to come in bunches for Giancarlo Stanton, and the Marlins right fielder is on one of his rolls.
Stanton blistered two home runs in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Mets off right-hander Jacob deGrom at Citi Field, giving him a stretch of four at-bats in a row with a blast to equal an all-time record, and he reached 200 career homers in the process.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Stanton became the 40th player to hit four home runs in four straight at-bats.
"On top of the fastball, that's what I've been successful with," said Stanton, who homered in his final two at-bats Tuesday. "That's what I fell off of for a little while. When you're on top of that, there is not much they can do."
Both no-doubt drives Wednesday came after a first-inning walk and were impressive by their pure force. According to Statcast™, his home run in the fourth inning projected at 454 feet with an exit velocity of 113 mph. And in the sixth inning, the 26-year-old connected again. This shot projected at 439 feet, also with a 113-mph exit velocity.
Stanton is the first big leaguer to homer in four straight at-bats since Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez did it April 7-8, 2015.
Already the Marlins' all-time home run leader, Stanton reached 200 homers in his 781st game.
"That's cool," Stanton said. "It's been a nice road, up and down. Got to keep going, don't stop here."
Stanton was able to collect his 200th home run ball, because a fan threw the ball back onto the field, where it made its way to the Miami dugout.
"Luckily, they threw it back for me," Stanton said.
Stanton also is the first player to have back-to-back multihomer games at Citi Field. He delivered two homers and five RBIs on Tuesday in Miami's 5-2 win.
After struggling for much of the second half, Stanton now leads the Marlins in home runs (19) and is tied with Marcell Ozuna (47) in RBIs.
"He's swinging the bat good for us, and now we have to get guys on in front of him and just continue on with the rest of our lineup," manager Don Mattingly said. "One guy gets hot and others get cold. Right now, the way G is swinging the bat, you want to have guys on in front of him."
Stanton is the second Marlins player with two homers in consecutive games, with the other being Derrek Lee on June 9-10, 2002.
With his two shots on Wednesday, Stanton now has 17 home runs at Citi Field, the most by any opposing player.
A three-time All-Star, Stanton was not selected on Tuesday night to represent the Marlins for the National League in the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard.
Stanton said if he is invited to participate in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, he would accept.
After going through his roughest big league first half, Stanton is showing signs he is ready to break out in the second half.
"Just full-force for the second half, that's all you can do," Stanton said. "Nothing you can really attest to this first half. I'm nowhere near where I wanted to be. But if I keep looking back at that, it's not going to get any better. Just take it day by day and keep pushing."
Joe Frisaro has covered the Marlins for MLB.com since 2002. He writes a blog, called The Fish Pond. Follow him on Twitter @JoeFrisaro and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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