WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 23: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees rounds the bases after hitting a two run home run to center field against Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals during the first inning in the game at Nationals Park on July 23, 2020 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Giancarlo Stanton wastes no time on Opening Day. The New York Yankees slugger drills a deep home run off Max Scherzer in his first at-bat.

Where are the Giancarlo Stanton haters right now? His third season with the New York Yankees is off to one hell of a start. The former MVP victimized three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer in his first opportunity in 2020. This is exactly how the Yankees wanted to start this World Series campaign.

Aaron Hicks rolled over a ground ball out of the lead-off spot, but Aaron Judge picked him up with a frozen rope for a single. On a weakly hit grounder by Gleyber Torres, Judge advanced to second base. That set the table for Stanton to do what he does best: hit dingers.

The 2-0 lead gives Gerrit Cole some breathing room, which he might need. Washington Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton cut New York’s lead in half with a solo shot to right off Cole in the bottom half of the first inning.

During summer camp, it looked like hitters might be slightly ahead of the pitchers. Through one inning of baseball in the 2020 season, it looks like that’s going to be the case. Scherzer and Cole are two of the best pitchers in the world, but they both made a major mistake early.

There’s still plenty of time for the Nationals to wrest control of this game back from the Yankees, but no matter what, it’s just nice to have baseball back. This is awesome.

NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.