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Three Up, Three Down: Giancarlo Stanton won't stop hitting homers
Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton is on a tear in August. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Three Up, Three Down: Giancarlo Stanton won't stop hitting homers

Welcome to this week's edition of Three Up, Three Down — your weekly catch-up of the three best highlights (and lowlights) from around the league. We're here for all of the cheers and the jeers, because it's baseball. You can't have a winner without someone losing along the way.

Up: Giancarlo Stanton's power reaches a frightening new level

Giancarlo Stanton is currently on a power-hitting tear that would make the likes of Roger Maris, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds raise an eyebrow. Going into Thursday night's action, Stanton had already hit 11 homers in the month of August alone and had 44 going into that game. He's always had the potential for this run inside of his bat, but this recent tear is absolutely incredible.

If he can keep up this incredible pace, it's easy to see him having 50 or more home runs by the time September rolls around, which means that there's a very good chance he could have a shot at hitting 60. Of course, the elephant in the room is that he'd be the first player in a long time to hit 60 dingers without having the cloud of steroids surrounding him, so I'd imagine that if he continues hitting bombs at this pace that Miami's star slugger will have the entirety of the baseball world rooting for him to hit the mark.

Down: First pitch at Fenway Park goes horribly, horribly wrong

Jordan Leandre is a familiar face to those who follow the Red Sox and their partnership with the Jimmy Fund. Leandre is a teenage survivor of pediatric cancer and has been closely associated with the Red Sox both during and after his battle with cancer. The brave fighter re-emerged again this week to throw out the first pitch of Wednesday night's game.

Unfortunately, his first pitch will go down as one of the most infamous in baseball history. Not only was the pitch just a tiny bit outside, but it hit a photographer in an extremely sensitive spot. I can't say with all certainty that this is the first time a dude has gotten hit square in the privates by a ceremonial first pitch, but we're in the era of social media so this will absolutely go down as the most high-profile shot to the jewels in the history of first pitches.

Up: Joey Votto is Wrigley Field's biggest heel right now

The Reds are living up to their expectations this season, which is to say that they've been in for a major struggle all year. However, they've still got Joey Votto, and to have Votto means that you've got a reason to watch this team. He's having another great season, and he's also proved to be extremely entertaining as well.

His latest antics have probably annoyed Cubs fans like a mosquito that just won't leave you alone when you're out on a muggy summer evening. First he foiled Joe Maddon's four-outfielder strategy by just hitting a double to beat that shift anyway. Then he trolled Cubs fans by throwing a ball onto the roof of Wrigley Field not once, but twice. Joey Votto will not go down in history as the most popular visitor to visit Wrigley, and I'd imagine that he's A-OK with that status.

Down: Yankees fan films himself getting trolled by the Red Sox

Back on Sunday night, Aroldis Chapman threw a near-103 mph fastball to Red Sox rookie Rafael Devers, and Devers defied all odds by sending that pitch into the bullpen in left field for a game-tying homer that allowed the Red Sox to eventually win the game in extras. It was as backbreaking of a loss as you can get in August, and I'd imagine it was a painful moment for any Yankees fan who was actually in the building.

Meanwhile, Yankees fan and YouTuber Joezmcfly filmed his live reaction to the events. At the beginning of the video, he's super excited to see Chapman hurl some heat at the Red Sox. Then the rest of the video progresses, and you can pinpoint the exact moment when Devers broke this fan's heart. Every baseball fan has experienced this feeling in some way, shape or form, but I'd imagine that the schadenfreude was bigger because of the fact that this guy was a Yankees fan.

Up: If you're an American League team, you're probably still in it


Gary Sanchez and the Yankees are atop the AL Wild Card standings. Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Speaking of the Yankees, they are currently a fair few games behind the Red Sox in the AL East, but it's all relatively good because they're at the top of the AL Wild Card as of the time of writing. However, they have absolutely no room to rest on their laurels because the rest of the American League is ready and willing to pounce on any slippage.

The Toronto Blue Jays go into Thursday's action with a 58-62 record. Despite that poor record, they were only 3.5 games behind the second Wild Card spot. However, they also have to look up at the logjam that includes the Orioles, Rangers, Rays, Mariners, Twins, Royals and Angels. So in the AL, unless you're heading for a rebuild (Tigers) or just tanking (A's and White Sox), it's mid-August and you've still got a shot at the playoffs. What a strange sport this is.

Down: Bryce Harper suffers a scary injury

Another high-profile star in the baseball world went down with a significant injury, and this time it was Bryce Harper. Harper is known for going full throttle on the field at all times, which is why his injury this past weekend looked extremely nasty at first glance. The Nationals feared the worst after he went down, and the good news is that it won't be a season-ending injury for Harper.

The Nationals expect him to come back for the "stretch run" of games at the end of the season and should be fine for the playoffs. That's great news because Washington will need all the help it can get to take down the potential competition in the postseason this year. Still, the injury Harper suffered will make you wince whenever you look at him slipping on that wet base, and it may get the Nationals to once again rethink their policy when it comes to rain delays.

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