Giancarlo Stanton: Miami Marlins slugger hits 53rd homer, shatters $50k camera lens

Sept. 5 (UPI) -- It's unlikely Giancarlo Stanton will have to front the bill for a camera he recently shattered while hitting his 53rd home run of the season.

The Miami Marlins slugger currently leads baseball in long balls. He did it again in the Marlins' 7-2 loss Monday to the Washington Nationals at Marlins Park.

Stanton stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning to faceoff against Nationals righty A.J. Cole. Miami trailed 3-1.

Stanton took an 86.5 mph slider for strike one before working the count to 2-1. He fouled off Coles fourth offering, a 94.3 mph four-seamer, before eying pitch No. 5. Stanton whipped Cole's 96 mph two-seam fastball into right field for a 350-foot shot. The ball left the park at 95.9 mph, according to ESPN's Home Run Tracker.

The opposite field shot was a direct hit for one Fox Sports Florida TV camera, shattering the lens.

A source told the Miami Herald that the lens is worth $50,000. The ball also tore off a piece of the camera's outer shell.

"G's obviously locked in as far as taking what they're giving," Marlins manager Don Mattingly told MLB.com. "He seems really disciplined, for the most part. They're going away from him. But just the way, he's taking what they're giving."

Stanton went 1-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI, a walk and a strikeout in the loss.

"We seem a little tired, that's all," Stanton told reporters, according to the Herald. "It's a long season. No excuse for it, but that's what it seems like, if you ask me. We don't have time for that. That's what a long season does. It's how are you going to deal with it now? How are you going to come out of it, really."

Miami has now lost two straight and seven of its last eight games. The Marlins are six games behind the Colorado Rockies for the second spot in the National League wild card race. The Nationals and Marlins resume their three-game series at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday at Marlins Park.

Stanton is on pace to hit 63 home runs.