The New York Yankees tied Major League Baseball’s all-time record for the most home runs hit through a team’s first three games of a season on Sunday, launching four more home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers (GameTracker) to bring their seasonal total to 15.
The Yankees received home runs from Aaron Judge (who continued his torrid start to the year), Ben Rice, and a pair from Jazz Chisholm Jr., capping a 12-3 victory and a sweep of the Brewers. Chisholm’s first home run of the afternoon came after Milwaukee skipper Pat Murphy intentionally walked Judge with two outs and no one off. He later secured a share of the record for the Yankees by sending into orbit this three-run shot to put the game out of reach.
With those 15 homers, the Yankees tied the 2006 Detroit Tigers, who went on to win the American League pennant. The 2019 Los Angeles Dodgers (13) and 2011 Texas Rangers (11) also cleared double digits in their first three games.
Additionally, the Yankees improved their two-day home-run tally to 13. That’s tied for the most in a two-game span in both franchise and MLB history. The 1999 Cincinnati Reds homered 14 times over Sept. 4-5 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Coincidentally, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was involved in that home-run barrage: he hit the first of those 14, with his blast coming off Paul Byrd.
The Yankees’ offensive outpouring coincides with some of their hitters (including Chisholm but not Judge) embracing the so-called “torpedo bat.” That is, a bat that redistributes some of the mass from the traditional barrel area to closer toward the label. The torpedo bat abides by MLB’s requirements and is a legal piece of equipment for in-game use. In fact, players from other teams across the league were seen using the torpedo bat during Sunday’s action, suggesting it’s more widespread than believed.
The Yankees will take Monday off before resuming their season on Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a rematch of the 2001 World Series.
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