Giancarlo Stanton ties August record with 18th home run

— -- Giancarlo Stanton didn't cool off any Tuesday night.?

The Miami Marlins slugger launched home run No. 51 of the season, a solo shot deep into the left-field stands in the top of the first inning off Washington Nationals?right-hander Edwin Jackson.?

It was Stanton's 18th long ball of August, tying the major league mark for that month, set in 1937 by Rudy York of the Detroit Tigers. The Marlins slugger is two home runs shy of tying the MLB record for most in a calendar month. Sammy Sosa holds the mark of 20, set in June 1998. He finished with 66 that year.

"That's pretty cool. Any major league record's a pretty awesome feat," Stanton said after going 1-for-3 with a walk in the 8-3 loss. "We didn't get the win out of it, but to be able to do that's pretty cool."

The Marlins round out the month with a game at Washington on Wednesday, followed by their series opener versus the Phillies on Thursday.?

Stanton's comfort in Washington also continued. He has four home runs at Nationals Park this month in 21 plate appearances, tied for the most there this month.

Stanton also now has 30 home runs since the start of July. That gives him sole possession of the second-most homers in consecutive calendar months in major league history. Albert Belle had 30 between August and September in 1995.

On Sunday, Stanton became the first National League player since? Prince Fielder?in 2007 to hit at least 50 home runs in a season.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.