Giancarlo Stanton crushes 44th HR of season; has HR in 6 straight games

— -- MIAMI -- Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton homered to left-center in the third inning of Miami's 9-4 loss to the? San Francisco Giants?on Tuesday night to give him a major league-leading 44 this season.?

Stanton's solo home run came off San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner?(3-5) on an 0-1 pitch. It landed on the stairs beyond the home run statue at Marlins Park. Stanton finished with two hits, two runs and a walk.?

Stanton has 23 home runs in his last 35 games; only Sammy Sosa in 1998 and Barry Bonds in 2001 had more in a 35-game stretch, according to Elias Sports Bureau.?

Stanton now has homered in six consecutive games. The major league record for consecutive games with a home run is eight, and was last achieved by Ken Griffey Jr. in 1993, according to Elias Sports Bureau.?Don Mattingly of the Yankees in 1987 and Dale Long of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1956 also homered in eight straight games.?

The last player in the majors to homer in six consecutive games was Colorado's Nolan Arenado, who did it Sept. 1-6, 2015.

Of Stanton's 34 hits since the All-Star break, 18 -- or 53 percent -- have been home runs, which ties the franchise record for most since the break, according to ESPN Stats & Information.?

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.