SAN FRANCISCO — The question hovers over Gary Sanchez.
Is this the one? Is this the big hit that gets Sanchez on a roll?
It certainly was long enough, 467 feet, the Yankees’ longest home run of the season, and according to Sanchez, the second-longest home run he has ever hit.
It was loud enough, the bases were juiced when Sanchez homered high up into the left-field bleachers at Oracle Park in the fifth inning Saturday for the first grand slam of his career as the Yankees continued to roll with a 6-4 win over the Giants.
And it certainly was emphatic.
The moment after connecting on the 91 mph fastball from lefty Derek Holland, Sanchez tossed his bat in front of the plate, looked into the Yankees dugout and slapped his hands together as if to say: That’s what I can do when I’m right.
“The past couple of games I’ve had, I have been off at the plate and to be able to connect like that makes me feel happy and I showed some emotions, I was excited,’’ Sanchez said through a translator.
The grand slam was the first hit for Sanchez since his return from the injured list on Wednesday. He had been 0-for-11 since coming back from his calf injury. His previous two at-bats had resulted in strikeouts. He was given Friday night off after an abysmal game Thursday night in Anaheim, Calif.
In his next at-bat after the grand slam, Sanchez nearly got his second home run of the day, hitting a towering high fly that was caught in front of the center-field fence.
As for the grand slam, the closest glove to that big drive was the big glove above the bleachers in left.
It was the kind of blast that jump-starts an offense and can jump-start a player. If any player needs a jump start, it is Sanchez. Behind the plate, it has been a wild ride the past few years. At the plate, sometimes he looks completely lost.
Despite all his issues, including missing two weeks with his injury, Sanchez’s seven home runs only trail team leader Luke Voit by one.
The Yankees need this Gary Sanchez to get where they want to go.
“My last two at-bats I felt more comfortable,’’ Sanchez admitted. “I felt confident. That’s what you want. Now we have to keep that consistency going.’’
Sanchez must be more consistent, because so much is riding on his talents.
Every Yankees fan wants Sanchez to be so much more than he is, and that is the burden he carries. Maybe Sanchez is the player we have seen of late. Sometimes lost at the plate and behind the plate, a passed ball just waiting to happen; and sometimes an incredible force, crushing a baseball 467 feet with the bases loaded, taking over a game with one mighty swing.
Sanchez gave the Accidental Yankees and J.A. Happ room to breathe. He can do so much for an offense. Luis Cessa gave up two home runs and four runs in the ninth to make it close.
Sanchez admitted he was “very excited” to launch his first grand slam.
“To get the chance to help the team, four big runs, I’m super happy about that, now I’m hoping to get more of those,’’ he said.
He did not get the baseball back.
“I didn’t ask about it, but nobody told me anything,’’ Sanchez said. “I don’t know if they got it or not. I don’t even know if they knew it was the first [grand slam].’’
Behind the plate, Sanchez had more zip, and when former teammate Tyler Austin struck out against Cessa to end the eighth, Sanchez whipped the ball to Voit at first base with a flourish.
There was life to his game and more life to the Yankees. Less life to the Giants and their fans.
“That’s one that kind of sucks the life out of the building,’’ manager Aaron Boone said of the titanic blast. “I had to walk down the steps and let out a yell. That fires you up when you see one of our dudes really step on one. I enjoy that. You always know he is capable of something like that at any moment.’’
The Yankees need Gary Sanchez to be a dude.