Aaron Judge let it be known Saturday that just because Juan Soto moved across town to the Mets, there is still plenty of power in The Bronx. Judge led a record-setting nine home run game by the New York Yankees with home runs in his first three at-bats in a 20-9 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The slugger just missed a fourth home run with a double off the wall in the sixth inning.
Teammates Take Judge’s Lead
The Yankees wasted no time ruining the day for former teammate Nestor Cortes as Paul Goldschmidt homered on the first pitch in the bottom of the first, and Cody Bellinger went deep on the second pitch. Both are newcomers to The Bronx after Soto signed with the Mets in the offseason.
Judge made it 3-0 after three pitches by smashing his first home run. It was the first time in Major League history that a team homered on the first three pitches it saw in a game. Austin Wells capped the first four-homer inning in Yankees history later in the first. “Well, it was a fun inning,” Judge said.
Judge homered again in the third inning – a grand slam – and finished his power display with a blast in the fourth. Jazz Chisholm, Oswald Peraza, and Andrew Volpe also went deep for New York. Judge went 4-for-6 with four runs scored and 8 RBI. It was his third career three-home run game. It was the first eight-RBI game for a Yankees since Didi Gregorius in 2018.
The Yankees also became the third team in MLB history to hit nine home runs. The Reds were the last team to do it. They accomplished it against the Phillies in 1999. Yankees Manager Aaron Boone was among the Reds players to homer that day. The Blue Jays own the record with 10 home runs against the Orioles in 1987.
Special Bats May Have Helped
According to Yahoo Sports, Yankee announcer Michael Key said during the broadcast that the Yankees were using specially designed bats. By moving the label on the bats, some of the wood is moved lower down on the barrel. This puts more mass in the area that strikes the ball, adding to the velocity off the bat. The Yankees tested the bats during Spring Training. It is unknown how many players used the bats Saturday, but whatever they did, worked for at least a day.
