Yankees punish Nestor Cortes in return to Bronx with 5 HRs allowed
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Follow UsThe Yankees lived up to their name on Saturday, putting together a historic offensive outburst against the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium.
It took just three pitches for the Yankees to light up the scoreboard. Former Yankee Nestor Cortes, now with the Brewers, served up back-to-back-to-back home runs on the first three pitches of the game. Paul Goldschmidt started the fireworks with a leadoff homer, followed by solo shots from Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge.
Nestor Cortes, traded shortly after giving up a walk-off grand slam in the 2024 World Series, couldn’t escape the ghosts of his past in his return to the Bronx. Later in the inning, Austin Wells added another solo homer, giving the Yankees a quick 4-0 lead.
Volpe adds three-run blast after Brewers strike back
Milwaukee momentarily bounced back with three runs in the top of the second, but Anthony Volpe responded in the bottom half with a three-run homer to restore the Yankees’ lead at 7-3. Nestor Cortes was unable to recover and was pulled during the third inning without recording an out.
His final line: 2.0 innings, six hits, eight earned runs, five home runs, five walks, and two strikeouts. His ERA ballooned to 36.00.
Aaron Judge wasn’t finished. In the third inning, he launched a grand slam—his second homer of the game—to make it 11-3. Moments later, Jazz Chisholm went deep to add to the blowout. By the end of the inning, the Yankees had hit seven home runs, setting a new MLB record for most through the first three innings of a game, per MLB’s Sarah Langs.
Judge returned in the fourth and crushed his third homer of the day, capping off the Yankees’ eighth home run in just four innings. It was a dominant performance by the Bronx Bombers, and one that put them in the record books.
A haunting return for Nestor Cortes
Saturday marked a brutal homecoming for Nestor Cortes. The left-hander, once a fan favorite in New York, saw his Yankees tenure end after surrendering the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history to Freddie Freeman last fall. His first outing in pinstripes as an opponent couldn’t have gone worse.
Game still in progress
As of the fifth inning, the game remains in action with the Yankees firmly in control. With eight home runs already on the board and Judge chasing a fourth, fans in the Bronx are witnessing a potential historic performance unfold.
The Yankees began their 2025 season with a 4-2 win on Opening Day. But Saturday’s rout over Milwaukee is shaping up to be an exclamation point, showing the full force of their revamped lineup. With Aaron Judge already in midseason form and the team flexing its power early, the Yankees look ready to make another deep postseason run.
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