You cannot stop him.
TORONTO -You cannot stop him.
Giancarlo Stanton was a smashing success in his Yankee debut, blasting two homers, as the Bombers made a winner out of first-year manager Aaron Boone in their season-opener, beating the Blue Jays 6-1 on Thursday afternoon at Rogers Centre.
Stanton finished with three hits — including a double — and four RBIs, while Opening Day starter Luis Severino fired 5.2 shutout innings of one-hit ball. Severino allowed just four base runners and struck out seven. He exited with 91 pitches, as Boone turned to the power bullpen to finish the job.
Brett Gardner (solo homer), Aaron Judge (single, double, walk) and Gary Sanchez (RBI double) each did their own share of damage at the plate.
SEE IT: Giancarlo Stanton crushes laser home run in first at-bat
Chad Green retired all four hitters he faced — three via the strikeout. Dellin Betances surrendered a solo homer to Kevin Pillar on his first pitch of the 2018 campaign before retiring the next three hitters he faced. Aroldis Chapman closed things out with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Bombers had lost their previous six Opening Days, ending the longest active skid in the majors.
Boone’s first challenge as manager was unsuccessful in the sixth — with Tyler Austin making the final out of the inning — even though it looked like Justin Smoak failed to touch first base after scooping Josh Donaldson’s inaccurate throw across the diamond.
Tyler Wade replaced Austin in the seventh, as Neil Walker shifted from second to first. Wade made a slick defensive play up the middle for the first out of the eighth.
Blue Jays retire Roy Halladay’s No. 32 before Opening Day game
Stanton’s 426-foot homer to right, in his first at-bat of the year, which gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead with one out in the first. It exited his bat with a velocity of 117.3 mph. He later added a 434-foot solo shot with a 109.4 mph exit velocity to straightaway center in the eighth. Stanton, the reigning NL MVP, hit an MLB-best 59 homers last season.
After Luis Severino issued back-to-back walks with two outs in the first inning, prompting pitching coach Larry Rothschild to come out for a visit. Severino followed by striking out Kendrys Morales to end the threat.
Giancarlo Stanton, who began his career in The Bronx with a bang. Stanton certainly lived up to expectations on this day.
The Yankees hadn’t won a season-opener since 2011 — their longest such streak in franchise history (0-6).
Masahiro Tanaka OK with not receiving Yankees’ Opening Day start
Luis Severino. He may have faltered due to being too hyped up in the AL wild-card game, but Severino pitched like an ace on the big stage Thursday afternoon.
Tyler Austin went 0-for-3 at the plate.
at Toronto, Friday at 7:07 p.m. Masahiro Tanaka (13-12,4.74 ERA in 2017) vs. Aaron Sanchez (1-3,4.25)
