Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton homers and is named MVP as AL tops NL in All-Star Game

LOS ANGELES – Giancarlo Stanton, a native of this city who grew up chasing batting practice home run balls with his father before games at Dodger Stadium, strongly hinted he might participate in Monday’s Home Run Derby before deciding at the last minute not to do so.

But the fifth-time All-Star, making  his first appearance as a Yankee, still had his homecoming moment.

Two of them, in fact.

Stanton hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning – a Derby-esque blast that traveled an estimated 457 feet to left-center – in the American League's 3-2 victory over the National League on Tuesday night, which earned the slugger MVP honors. It was the AL's ninth victory in a row.

“I really can’t explain how special this is,” Stanton said. “It’s hard to put into words, words that this is reality right now. It’s really cool. I’m just soaking it all in…this is very special to me. It’s right up there with anything personally [I’ve done]. I have some goals in terms of winning a championship and going all the way, but personally for the road I’ve gone on to get to where I am now, this is very special.”

“I’ve been seeing that all year, that’s nothing new,” fellow All-Star Aaron Judge said of Stanton, who ranked second on the Yankees in homers in the first half with 24 (Judge leads all of MLB with 33). “He told me he was going to get one. He didn’t get it in the first at-bat, so he made up for it in the second, that’s for sure.”

Stanton, whose father, Mike, was in attendance Tuesday, came to the plate with one out and one on in the fourth against Dodgers righthander Tony Gonsolin. After falling behind 0-and-2, Stanton launched the next pitch, a splitter that didn’t do much, deep into the seats in left-center, the ball leaving his bat at 111.7 mph, the hardest-hit homer in an All-Star Game in the Statcast era (which dates to 2015), and the second-longest, according to baseball researcher Sarah Langs.

That homer was hit in a similar area of the bleachers in left where Stanton and his dad used to try to catch batting practice balls.

“Full circle,” Stanton said. “Me playing in left…I always tried to get a ball thrown to me from whomever was playing leftfield when I was a kid. Just to be out there was so fun. So cool.”

Byron Buxton of the Twins made it-back-to-back blasts, following Stanton’s with a shot to left that gave the AL a 3-2 lead.

Nestor Cortes came on for the bottom of the sixth to throw to teammate Jose Trevino, the AL still holding the 3-2 edge. The lefthander fell behind Atlanta’s Austin Riley 3-and-1 to start the inning before striking the third baseman out swinging at a full-count four-seam fastball. Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who came on in the fourth for the Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt, came next and experienced one of Cortes’ quirky corkscrew, side-arm deliveries (the 1-and-1 pitch went for a ball). Cortes, again falling behind 3-and-1, walked Alonso. Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson flied to deep center and Atlanta catcher Travis d’Arnaud walked. Cortes struck out Marlins DH Garrett Cooper swinging at a 2-and-2 four-seam fastball to end the 27-pitch inning.

Trevino, who came on for Alejandro Kirk of the Blue Jays – the AL’s starting catcher – got a hit in his first All-Star Game at-bat, slashing a one-out single to right off Brewers righthander Devin Williams in the seventh.

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m an all-star, man,” Trevino, mic’d up during the broadcast, said as he came to the plate. “This is unreal.”

Clay Holmes, the Yankees’ fifth All-Star (Gerrit Cole was the sixth but pitched Sunday so was not available to play), faced three batters in the eighth, allowing a hit before retiring two straight.

Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil, voted into the NL’s starting lineup, went 0-for-1 and was hit by a pitch.

The 30-year-old McNeil has had bigger priorities of late. And that was evident in one of his guests this week, his son, Lucas, born on July 13.

“It’s fantastic,” McNeil said after coming out of Tuesday’s game. “Got to take some pictures pregame with him and my wife [Tatiana], and the red carpet today was awesome. I know he’s not going to remember anything, but we’ll have some cool pictures when he gets older.”