Stanton hits 451-foot homer, drives in 5 runs as Yankees beat Nationals 5-1

NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton hit a 451-foot, two-run homer in the sixth inning and drove in five runs for the first time since 2022 to lead the New York Yankees to a 5-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.

The Yankees won their third straight and remained a half-game behind Boston for the AL's top wild-card spot.

Stanton gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead when he lifted a slider from Orlando Ribalta about halfway up the left field bleachers for his fifth homer in seven games.

Stanton’s 446th career homer was the highlight of his first game with at least five RBIs since May 12, 2022 against the White Sox. It was his eighth game with at least five RBIs and one shy of his career high.

Stanton also hit a bases-clearing double off the top of the left field fence with two outs in the third to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead off Washington starter MacKenzie Gore (5-13).

New York starter Luis Gil (2-1) allowed five hits and one run in five innings. He walked four for the third time since returning from a lat strain, and struck out five.

Anthony Volpe returned after sitting out two games and went 0 for 4 .

CJ Abrams hit an RBI single off Gil in the third.

Gore allowed three runs and three hits in five innings. The left-hander fell to 1-5 since the All-Star break as the Nationals lost their fourth straight.

Gore allowed a double to Paul Goldschmidt and walked Aaron Judge and Bellinger ahead of Stanton’s double. Tim Hill retired Wood on a groundout with the bases loaded to end the sixth after relieving Fernando Cruz.

Stanton is hitting .346 (17 for 49) with runners in scoring position this season.

New York LHP Max Fried (13-5, 3.14 ERA) opposes Washington RHP Cade Cavalli (1-0, 2.82) on Wednesday.

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Washington Nationals' MacKenzie Gore throws against the New York Yankees during the third inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Washington Nationals' James Wood reacts after being tagged out by New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton celebrates with teammates after hitting a two run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton hits two run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

U.S., Danish and Greenlandic officials have met face to face to discuss President Donald Trump's ambitions to take control of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark. At the same time, Denmark and several European allies are sending troops to Greenland in a pointed signal of intent to boost the vast Arctic island's security.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said after a meeting in Washington on Wednesday with his Greenlandic counterpart, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a “fundamental disagreement” remained. He acknowledged that “we didn't manage to change the American position” but said he hadn't expected to.

However, Wednesday's events did point to ways ahead.

Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. agreed to form a high-level working group “to explore if we can find a common way forward,” Løkke Rasmussen said. He added that he expects the group to hold its first meeting “within a matter of weeks.”

Danish and Greenlandic officials didn't specify who would be part of the group or give other details. Løkke Rasmussen said the group should focus on how to address U.S. security concerns while respecting Denmark's “red lines.” The two countries are NATO allies.

“Whether that is doable, I don't know,” he added, holding out hope that the exercise could “take down the temperature.”

He wouldn't elaborate on what a compromise might look like, and expectations are low. As Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen put it Thursday, having the group is better than having no working group and “it's a step in the right direction.” It will at least allow the two sides to talk with each other rather than about each other.

Trump has argued repeatedly that the U.S. needs control of Greenland for its national security. He has sought to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals.

Just as the talks were taking place in Washington on Wednesday, the Danish Defense Ministry announced that it was increasing its military presence in Greenland, along with NATO allies. France, Germany, Norway and Sweden announced that they were each sending very small numbers of troops in a symbolic but pointed move signaling solidarity with Copenhagen.

The U.K. said one British officer was part of what it called a reconnaissance group for an Arctic endurance exercise. The German Defense Ministry, which dispatched 13 troops, said the aim is to sound out “possibilities to ensure security with a view to Russian and Chinese threats in the Arctic.” It said it was sending them on a joint flight from Denmark as “a strong signal of our unity.”

Poulsen said that "the Danish Armed Forces, together with a number of Arctic and European allies, will explore in the coming weeks how an increased presence and exercise activity in the Arctic can be implemented in practice,” he said.

On Thursday, he said the intention was “to establish a more permanent military presence with a larger Danish contribution,” and to invite allies to take part in exercises and training on a rotating basis, according to Danish broadcaster DR.

While the European troops are largely symbolic at this point, the timing was no accident.

The deployment “serves both to send a political signal and military signal to America, but also indeed to recognize that Arctic security should be reinforced more," said Maria Martisiute, an analyst at the European Policy Center in Brussels. "And first and foremost, this should be done through allied effort, not by the U.S. coming and wanting to take it over. So it complicates the situation for the U.S.”

The European efforts are Danish-led and not coordinated through NATO, which is dominated by the United States. But the European allies are keen to keep NATO in play, and Germany said that “the aim is to obtain a well-founded picture on the ground for further talks and planning within NATO."

Poulsen has said he and Greenland's foreign minister plan to meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels on Monday to discuss security in and around the Arctic. NATO has been studying ways to bolster security in the Arctic region.

“I’m really looking forward for an announcement of some kind of military activity or deployment under NATO’s framework,” Martisiute said. “Otherwise there is indeed a risk that ... NATO is paralyzed and that would not be good.”

Sylvain Plazy in Brussels contributed to this report.

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the German Air Force taxis over the grounds at Wunstorf Air Base in the Hanover region, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 as troops from NATO countries, including France and Germany, are arriving in Greenland to boost security. (Moritz Frankenberg/dpa via AP)

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

A man rides by on a quad bike past a row of Greenlandic national flags in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)