Giancarlo Stanton put the cherry on top of an AL Wild Card Game that really could not have gone much better for the New York Yankees on Wednesday night.
Stanton took Oakland A’s closer Blake Treinen deep for a solo home run to lead off the 8th inning and make it 7-2. Stanton absolutely crushed the homer, which had a 117.4 mph exit velocity and soared out of the stadium by the left field foul pole.
Remember that 116.1 mph HR by @TheJudge44?
His teammate, @Giancarlo818, just had to top it.
Stanton’s 117.4 mph blast is now the hardest-hit HR #statcast has tracked in postseason play pic.twitter.com/sMco6RS4An
— #Statcast (@statcast) October 4, 2018
The best part about Stanton’s reaction was seeing Aroldis Chapman’s reaction to the bomb:
Aroldis Chapman's reaction to the Stanton bomb was priceless.
What a game.#Yankees #PinstripePride #ChaseFor28 #DefendTheBronx #Postseason
— Chris Dixon (@cdixon25) October 4, 2018
Chapman was warming up in the bullpen and got a good look at the homer. The southpaw later entered in the ninth in a non-save situation to shut down the 7-2 victory.