New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge continued his torrid start to the season on Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers (GameTracker), launching his fourth home run (a two-run shot) in his first three games. Observe:
With those runs batted in to his credit, Judge moved into a tie for the second most RBI (11) recorded in a club’s first three games of a season in MLB history, according to Sarah Langs’ research. Only Dolph Camilli, who drove in 12 for the 1935 Philadelphia Phillies, recorded more. Former Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, meanwhile, was the most recent player to notch 11, doing it back in 2013.
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Perhaps predictably, Brewers skipper Pat Murphy was ready to experiment with a new approach the next time Judge came to the plate. Murphy’s gambit? Intentionally walking Judge with two out and nobody on base. Unfortunately for Murphy, the new approach didn’t work much better than the old one. Instead, Murphy could only watch as Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm launched his own two-run home run, extending New York’s lead out to 5-1.
Sunday’s intentional walk represented the first of Judge’s season. It won’t be the last. He was put on base intentionally 20 times last year, as well as 28 times in the prior two seasons combined. Our Mike Axisa broke down Judge’s intentional walks late last season, concluding that it was an effective approach owed to the lack of production the Yankees were receiving behind Judge.
At least so far this season, the Yankees haven’t hurt for offense. As a team, they’ve blasted 14 home runs through the middle of Sunday’s game. Just one team has ever hit more through their first three games: the 2006 Detroit Tigers, who lifted 15 to begin their pennant-winning campaign.
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