Marlins' Stanton homers in first rehab

Giancarlo Stanton may have gone by another name the last time he suited up for Class A Advanced Jupiter, but on Thursday, he showed off that same swing that got him out of the Florida State League the first time around.

Stanton, batting cleanup behind another rising star in Christian Yelich, went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer and an RBI double in his first rehab game to lead the Hammerheads past the Brevard County Manatees, 9-0, at Space Coast Stadium.

Stanton, who hit .294 with 12 homers in 50 games for Jupiter in 2009, has been out of Miami's lineup since July 7 after undergoing surgery to remove two cartilage chips from his right knee.

He joined the Hammerheads on Thursday and is expected to come off the Marlins' disabled list in time for Miami's game on Aug. 7.

On Thursday, he ripped a three-run homer in the top of the third inning after Marcell Ozuna walked and Yelich singled. Stanton, who popped up to left in his first at-bat, followed Yelich's leadoff double in the sixth with an RBI single, putting Jupiter up 8-0.

Stanton, a Florida State League All-Star in '09, had 19 home runs, 50 RBIs and a .554 slugging percentage before landing on the DL. Expected to miss four to six weeks, he began hitting off a tee around July 22 and initially hoped to return by Aug. 10.

Jupiter also got a nice start from Robert Morey, who held the Manatees to nine hits over eight scoreless innings for his sixth win. He struck out four.