NEW YORK — One way to describe the New York Yankees’ power surge in the Bronx on Saturday? Historic, and in a couple of ways.
First, they became the first team to hit three home runs on the first three pitches they saw.
Then, they broke a franchise record with nine total home runs. The Yankees ultimately beat the Milwaukee Brewers 20-9.
“What a performance,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Kind of a weird, crazy game.”
Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge ruined a return to Yankee Stadium for Brewers starting pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr. by homering off the first three pitches he threw to start the game. Minutes later, Austin Wells’ home run with two outs was the fourth blast Cortes surrendered in the inning, marking the first time in team history the Yankees hit four home runs in one inning.
Anthony Volpe went deep off Cortes in the second inning before Judge hit a grand slam in the third, followed by a homer from Jazz Chisholm Jr. to give the Yankees seven total.
Judge’s fourth-inning homer helped New York match its previous single-game high of eight, achieved twice in Yankees history. The blast made him the fourth Yankee in franchise history to have at least three career three-homer games, joining Lou Gehrig (who leads with four), Joe DiMaggio and Alex Rodriguez.
“Anytime you get mentioned with those guys and what they’ve done in the game, and the careers they’ve had, it’s pretty special,” Judge said. “Story’s not done yet. Going to keep adding to those lists.”
In the seventh, pinch hitter Oswald Peraza homered to set the record. The Yankees became the third team in MLB history to hit nine homers in a game. The Toronto Blue Jays set the MLB record in 1987, becoming the only team to hit 10 in a game.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy called it an “old-fashioned ass whooping.”
“You think you’ve seen it all in baseball, and you haven’t because we saw it today — three pitches, three homers,” Murphy said. “Usually, you wake up from that. You go, ‘Wow. God. That can’t ever happen.’ It just did.”
Cortes left Yankee Stadium without talking to the media, according to a Brewers official. A Brewers spokesperson said there had been a miscommunication and that Cortes planned to speak to reporters Sunday morning.
Despite the offensive barrage, it wasn’t the cleanest game for the Yankees. One of their main priorities this offseason was improving the defense. The Yankees committed five errors in Saturday’s win, their most since May 29, 2018.
WHAT A START FOR THE @YANKEES!!!
3 pitches, 3 home runs!! pic.twitter.com/xWqAqH9X0y
— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2025
Judge notches third three-homer game
Judge took 16 games to hit his third home run of the 2024 season. In 2025, Judge needed just 13 innings.
Judge’s first homer Saturday traveled 468 feet off Cortes. His second was a grand slam off reliever Connor Thomas. The Yankee Stadium crowd called for a curtain call, but Judge’s day wasn’t over. In the fourth inning, he hit a two-run home run off Thomas, tying the club record at eight.
The Yankees completely revamped their lineup in the second game of the season because they were up against Cortes, a left-handed pitcher. At least in the early part of the year, Boone plans to construct his lineups to counteract the platoon advantages that an opposing starter might possess.
The Yankees concluded at the end of spring training that they lacked a right-handed bat to assist them against left-handed pitching, but in the second game of the 2025 season, that was not a concern.
Brewers first baseman and outfielder Jake Bauers, a former Yankee, was on the mound in the eighth when Judge went up for his possible fourth homer (Judge lined out instead). “I was joking with him when he was on deck — I told him I was going to him in the ribs,” Bauers said about Judge. “I gave him the best curveball I had. He still hit it pretty good.”
Cortes returns to New York
Cortes pitched parts of five seasons with the Yankees, including the last four in a row, and he was an All-Star in 2022. In the winter, the Yankees traded the fan-favorite Cortes to the Brewers in exchange for closer Devin Williams, who earned the save in the Yankees’ 4-2 win over the Brewers on Opening Day on Thursday.
“I want to see where I line up with those guys and hopefully go out there and throw five shutout (innings),” Cortes said Thursday about his upcoming start Saturday.
Judge said it didn’t hurt that the Yankees were plenty familiar with Cortes.
“We know Nestor,” he said. “Nestor (had) been here for years. He’s one of the best lefty pitchers in the game. He’s going to go out there and throw strikes and attack you. We just tried to go out there and be aggressive in our zone. Goldy and Belli, they were aggressive and got things going there. This place was rocking once I got up there.”
On Wednesday, Cortes bleached his hair in what he called “platinum with a hint of purple.” Cortes was facing off against the Yankees’ newest big-ticket item, lefty Max Fried, who took a $218-million, eight-year deal to join the pinstripes in the winter.
Fried went 4 2/3 innings, needing 94 pitches. He gave up two earned runs while striking out four, walking two and giving up seven hits. He also made a throwing error.
Boone said the Yankees still had nothing but love for Cortes just hours before New York began bludgeoning Cortes’ pitches.
“He became very popular for good reason,” the manager said. “A great story. I remember him kind of not being that big prospect, being that up-and-down guy, but always impressed us, even in the early days, and then earned his way into the rotation and became an All-Star and is turning into having a really good career. But somebody that’s beloved by us and certainly our fan base. Hopefully we can make it tough on him today and we can go off can have a good season.”
Cortes finished the game in the third inning, having surrendered seven earned runs, throwing 64 pitches. The crowd cheered as he walked off the mound.
(Photo Mike Stobe / Getty Images)
