BOSTON — Giancarlo Stanton came into Tuesday in the midst of a skid and struggling against left-handers through the first month of the season.
So of course on a chilly night at Fenway Park, Stanton became the hottest hitter in town.
The veteran DH drove in three runs, providing all the offense that Luis Gil needed in his best start of the season on the way to the Yankees’ fourth straight win, a 4-0 victory over the Red Sox.
Stanton was robbed of another extra-base hit in his final at-bat, but settled for going 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a two-run double, both off Red Sox lefty Connelly Early.
Entering Tuesday, he had been 1-for-21 and 0-for-17 overall against left-handers, with Aaron Boone giving him a breather Sunday for a double day off to combine with Monday’s scheduled off-day.
The result was Stanton looking like the hitter he was to start the season and continuing to mash at Fenway Park like he has throughout his career — now batting .316 with eight home runs and a .932 OPS in 40 games.
“It’s always a fun rivalry game, no matter where each team is in the standings,” Stanton said. “It’s just a good experience, a good pure baseball place to play. You’ve got to raise your game in those types of situations.”
That provided the support for Gil, who tossed 6 ¹/₃ scoreless innings even without his best stuff.
The right-hander, who could be on the outside looking in of the rotation crunch once Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole return from the injured list next month, allowed just two hits while walking three, hitting a batter and striking out a pair.
“My focus is to execute pitches, get strikes out there and then at the end, let them figure it out,” Gil said of the looming decision through an interpreter.
Despite his velocity being down in the frigid conditions, Gil found a way to be effective with some quick innings against a rough-looking Red Sox lineup.
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In doing so, he continued his strong track record against the Red Sox (9-14), now having allowed just three earned runs in 33 ²/₃ career innings against them.
Brent Headrick, Tim Hill and David Bednar followed Gil to combine for the shutout, the second straight for the Yankees and the fifth of their season.
Stanton’s big night began in the second inning, when Early threw him an inside slider that he crushed to the light tower above the Green Monster. Smoked off the bat at 111.5 mph, his third home run of the season gave the Yankees (14-9) a 1-0 lead.
“Just some really good at-bats, obviously to get us going with a G-esque moonshot,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Early only faced one batter over the minimum across the next three innings before Amed Rosario drew a leadoff walk in the sixth, sparking a rally.
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Aaron Judge came up next and — after an unsuccessful automated ball-strike system challenge left him in an 0-2 count — worked another walk.
One out later, Stanton roped a full-count double off the Green Monster that scored both runners, with Judge chugging around from first and scoring on an aggressive send from third base coach Luis Rojas for the 3-0 lead.
Randal Grichuk later added an insurance run in the eighth inning, belting an RBI double to the gap to make it 4-0 and cap off a solid 2-for-4 night after entering the day 2-for-20 on the season.
But the most encouraging performance came from Stanton, who offered a reminder of the threat he can be in the middle of the order if he remains healthy.
Boone has been proactive in getting Stanton regular days off in an attempt to keep him fresh over the long haul, which could allow him to be another impact bat along with Judge and Ben Rice.
“He’s a huge presence for us and glad he’s gotten some big hits here early,” Boone said. “Obviously the difference for us tonight.”
