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, who finished with two hits, two runs and a walk, has homered in six consecutive games. Stanton's solo shot 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.
"Obviously, very dangerous right now,'' said Marlins manager Don Mattingly.
Stanton has 23 home runs in his past 35 games; only Sammy Sosa in 1998 and Barry Bonds in 2001 had more in a 35-game stretch, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
"I've never even heard anything like this before with what he's doing,'' Marlins catcher A.J. Ellis said. "And the fact to be able to see it, it's a great moment for all of us.
"The fact that he's delivering when the expectations are there speaks to how locked in he is and how dedicated he is to find the right pitches. It's pretty special to watch, and we all hope it keeps going.''
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 the Elias Sports Bureau. Mattingly, when he was with the Yankees in 1987, and Dale Long of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1956 also homered in eight straight games.
"I'd like to see him beat it, actually,'' Mattingly said. "It would be good.
"We're trying to win games and the last thing I'm going to do is root against him hitting homers. So I'm all for it.''
The last player in the majors to homer in six consecutive games was the Colorado Rockies' Nolan Arenado in September 2015.
Of Stanton's 34 hits since the All-Star Game, 18 (53 percent) have been home runs, which ties the franchise record for most since the break, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
In Wednesday's series finale, the Giants will start right-hander Matt Cain, against whom Stanton has four home runs in 22 at-bats.
"You watch the way teams are starting to pitch him now, he's only getting one or two pitches a night to even drive,'' Ellis said. "They're starting to pitch him a lot tougher, not trying to come into his nitro zones at all, and when they do, he's not missing.''
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.