New York Yankees 20-9 Milwaukee Brewers
The Yankees opened their home slate with a thunderous statement on Saturday, smashing a franchise-record nine home runs in a 20-9 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium. Aaron Judge led the offensive explosion with three home runs and eight RBI, as New York became just the third team in MLB history to hit nine homers in a single game.
The Yankees joined the 1987 Blue Jays (MLB-record 10) and the 1999 Reds (9) in the record books.
Yankees hit home runs on first three pitches
In an unprecedented start, the Yankees went deep on each of the game’s first three pitches. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt launched a leadoff homer off former Yankee Nestor Cortes. Then came solo shots from Cody Bellinger and Judge, stunning the Brewers and immediately setting the tone.
Cortes, traded to Milwaukee after giving up a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series, surrendered four homers in the first inning, including one to catcher Austin Wells, giving the Yankees a 4-0 lead.
Pitching against his former team for the first time, Cortes lasted just two innings and was pulled in the third without recording an out. His line: 2 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 5 HR, 5 BB, 2 K — an ugly start that raised his ERA to 36.00.
Yankees keep slugging: Judge hits grand slam, Peraza breaks record
After Milwaukee closed the gap to 4-3, Anthony Volpe hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the second. In the third, Judge crushed a grand slam, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. added another solo homer to make it 13-4. By the end of the third inning, the Yankees had seven home runs, setting a new MLB record for the most through three innings.
Judge wasn’t done. He launched his third homer of the game in the fourth inning. That tied the Yankees’ previous record of eight homers in a game — a mark Oswald Peraza broke in the seventh with a two-run shot, giving New York its ninth of the day.
Judge finished 4-for-6 with three home runs, a double and eight RBI. The Yankees, now 2-0 on the season, opened their 2025 campaign with a 4-2 win on Thursday, also against the Brewers.
Saturday’s historic power surge helped erase memories of last October, when Cortes allowed the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history, hit by Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers.
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