With Juan Soto playing across town now after his one-year stint in The Bronx, the Yankees knew they had to do something during the offseason to make up for the loss of the generational 26-year-old.
That something was bringing in a cast of characters, including Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger, in an effort to lengthen their lineup and help with their depth outside of Aaron Judge. In just New York’s second game of the season, those moves paid off in a big way.
Facing former Yankee Nestor Cortes and the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the regular season, Goldschmidt, Bellinger and Judge hit three straight home runs — on three straight pitches — off the lefty to start the game. Before most of the 46,683 fans in attendance could even sit down and take a bite out of their hot dog, the Bronx Bombers — true to their name — had a 3-0 lead.
“Swing first pitch,” Judge said with a laugh on what was going through his mind walking up to the plate in that first inning. “The place was rocking once I got up there. I was just trying to control [my] breathing and just get a good pitch.”
Good pitch he got, indeed, sending an 88-mph cutter 468 feet to left field, the farthest and loudest of the three first-inning home runs.
But it was Goldschmidt, making his first plate appearance at the leadoff spot, who got the party started with a solo shot to lead things off, just as Austin Wells, who was as unfamiliar batting first as Goldschmidt, did in Thursday’s season opener. It was the 37-year-old’s first hit as a Yankee.
Overall, the first baseman went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and three runs scored, passing his first test batting leadoff with flying colors.
“It’s tough to start better than that,” Goldschmidt said. “I just tried to take my same at-bat, my same mindset. Fortunately I was able to get a good pitch to hit and get it out of there.”
Congratulations, Aaron Boone, you’re two for two.
Fellow newcomer Bellinger followed soon after with a blast to right center field and in the blink of an eye, New York was on top, 2-0.
“That was a really cool moment,” Bellinger said. “Super unique to be a part of and it was just nice to get the party started.”
After hitting his first home run in pinstripes, Bellinger noted that Saturday’s win was a great way for all of the newcomers to feel comfortable with their new team and get some of those firsts out of the way. Whether it be first hit with the new club, first home run, or even just first game as it was for J.C. Escarra, who made his MLB debut by pinch-hitting in the seventh inning.
Another first almost happened, too.
Following his first-inning homer, Judge hit a second home run (this one a grand slam) in the third before going yard again in the fourth for his third three-home run game, tying him with Joe DiMaggio and Alex Rodriguez for second in Yankees history behind Lou Gehrig‘s four.
“It’s a special group,” Judge said. “Any time you get mentioned with those guys, with what they’ve done in the game and the careers they’ve had, it’s pretty special. Our story’s not done yet, so hopefully we can keep adding to those lists.”
The reigning AL MVP would have three more plate appearances to try at his first four-homer game, something accomplished by just 18 players in MLB history.
In fact, Judge came a few feet away from achieving that feat after his RBI double off the right field wall in the sixth inning. Then in the eighth, facing position-player and former Yankee Jake Bauers, Judge hit another long fly ball to left field that barely left the yard but was caught.
“Nothing’s out of reach for him,” Boone said. “I wanted to give him that opportunity at least.”
Judge ended his day 4-for-6 with three homers and eight RBI — quite the contrast from his less-than-stellar spring training.
As for the rest of the lineup, Wells, Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Oswald Peraza also went deep, giving New York a total of nine home runs on the afternoon, a franchise record.
“We like where we’re at. We love our lineup, we love our depth, we love the guys that we got in this locker room and it’s gonna be fun,” Bellinger said. “This is a very difficult game, but we got a lot of guys that have been there and are gonna have some fun doing it.”
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