The New York Yankees turned a summer night into another record book entry.
In Tampa, visitors in their own spring training complex, New York blasted nine home runs in a 13-3 rout of the Rays, marking the second time this year the club has reached that total. Seven of those came before the fifth inning, leaving little doubt about the outcome even after a rain delay pushed first pitch close to 10 p.m.
Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Cody Bellinger, José Caballero, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ben Rice all went deep, with Stanton, Bellinger and Caballero clearing the fence twice.
The fireworks show made the Yankees the first team in MLB history to log multiple nine-homer games in a single season.
“To do it twice, that’s remarkable,” manager Aaron Boone said, as transcribed by Greg Joyce of the New York Post, adding that some balls were “seriously hit” against a staff that usually makes scoring difficult.
Story continues below advertisement
Judge’s blast carried extra weight. It was his 40th of the season, a mark he has now reached four different times. “He became just the fourth player in Yankees history to do so, joining Babe Ruth (11), Lou Gehrig (five) and Mickey Mantle (four),” wrote Joyce, “with Judge being the only one in that group to accomplish the feat in his first 10 seasons.”
The early home run barrage included a stretch of three straight home runs in the first inning. Joyce noted the Yankees have now gone back-to-back-to-back three times this season, something only two other clubs have managed in the modern era.
The victory also pushed New York ahead of Boston and Seattle in the AL wild card race while closing some ground on Toronto in the division.
Story continues below advertisement
For now, the conversation in The Bronx centers on power and whether a group built on slugging can carry it into September.
The Yankees will take that kind of statement any night.