Stanton slams three dongs

Giancarlo Stanton kept the long ball going Monday night, slamming Livingston for three home runs.  It's the 3rd time in 8 days that we've see someone smack a trio of homers in one game.

Livingston was on the receiving end last night but Jedd Gyorko popped three homers on Friday night for the Lords of Swing. Hopatcong's Pedro Alvarez slugged three homers in a game against El Paso earlier this month.

Last year's Mitchell Award winner with 60 home runs, Stanton led off the 2nd with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly. He started blasting dongs in the 3rd, teeing off on Justin Verlander after two walks for a 3-run blast to left center. He tagged Verlander again in the 5th with a solo shot to left. Stanton's 3rd home run, to right center this time, came off reliever Raisel Iglesias after he yielded a lead-off single to Adrian Gonzalez in the 7th.

With the Mules up 13-2, Stanton was in the on-deck circle with the hometown fans screaming for an appearance when Livingston's Chris Devenski got the final out in the bottom of the 8th. The Lords of Swing led off the top of the 9th with home runs to make it 13-4 but couldn't scrounge up the 9 more runs necessary to force a bottom of the 9th, which Stanton would have led off looking to tie the record with his 4th home run. He finished the nigh 4-6 with 3 runs scored and 6 RBI.

The Mules as a team scored 13 runs on 12 hits, leaving just 3 men on base. Verlander was the primary victim, yielding 10 runs in 5 2/3 innings and walked four, three of which came home to score.