Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge homered for the Yankees on the first three pitches from Milwaukee’s Nestor Cortes and Judge added a third-inning grand slam as New York hit seven homers in the first three innings Saturday and took a 13-3 lead.
Austin Wells also hit a solo homer in the first as New York burst ahead 4-0, and Anthony Volpe hit a three-run drive off Cortes in the second for a 7-3 lead on the unusually warm 78-degree afternoon.
Judge hit his ninth career slam off Connor Thomas, a 27-year-old left-hander making his major league debut. Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with another homer as Thomas’ first five batters reached.
Major League Baseball said this was the first time a team homered on its first three pitches since tracking of pitch counts began in 1988. New York hit four home runs in the first inning for the first time in its century-plus history.
Batting leadoff for the first time in his 15-year major league career, Goldschmidt drove a fastball 413 feet into the Brewers bullpen in left field against Cortes, who was making his Milwaukee debut following a December trade from the Yankees.
Bellinger sent a fastball over the Yankees bullpen and into the right-field bleachers.
Judge, the reigning AL MVP, drove a cutter 468 feet into the right-field second deck.
After a mound visit by pitching coach Chris Hook, Jazz Chisholm Jr. took a called third strike, Volpe grounded out and Wells hit a fastball 372 feet into the left-field seats.
Milwaukee closed to 4-3 in the second against Max Fried, who made his Yankees debut, and Volpe hit a cutter 349 feet into the left-field seats.
Wells led off Thursday’s game with a home run off Freddy Peralta, becoming the first catcher to hit a leadoff homer on opener day. The Yankees joined the 2011 Texas Rangers as the only team to lead off with a home run in its first two games. Ian Kinsler went deep starting both those Rangers games.
Cortes, a 30-year-old left-hander who pitched for New York from 2018-24, had never before allowed more than three homers in a game. He is remembered by Yankees fans for allowing a first-pitch grand slam to Freddie Freeman in the 10th inning of last year’s World Series opener that lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-3 win, starting them to the title.
New York’s only run not on a homer in the first three innings was on Bellinger’s bases-loaded infield single that richocheted off Thomas toward first.
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