BALTIMORE — On the one-month anniversary of the club creating a firestorm around the league with their use of torpedo bats in a game in which they scored 20 runs against the Milwaukee Brewers, the New York Yankees celebrated by creating MLB history.
The Yankees became the first team to hit three straight home runs to begin a game twice in the same season. On Tuesday, against Baltimore Orioles starter Kyle Gibson, Trent Grisham began the home run bonanza with a leadoff shot that landed on Eutaw Street beyond the right field wall. Grisham’s home run briefly tied him with Aaron Judge for the team lead with eight home runs.
It took Grisham 24.7 seconds to trot around the bases. About 15 seconds later, he was no longer tied with Judge at the top of the Yankees’ home run leaderboard.
“I can’t let him have that,” Judge said while smiling. “It was fun. I’m happy he gave us the lead, and we were tied for a second, but I had to take that back.”
Judge did just that. On the first pitch he saw from Gibson, Judge sent a ball flying over the right-field wall to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. After a 2-for-3 night at the plate, Judge is now hitting .412 on the season. Designated hitter Ben Rice followed Grisham and Judge with a 378-foot homer over the right field wall, capping the Yankees’ back-to-back-to-back homers to begin the game.
“It’s hard to wrap your head around that,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of the team making MLB history. Previously, New York hit back-to-back-to-back home runs on March 29 against Milwaukee Brewers starter Nestor Cortes Jr., who the Yankees traded this offseason in a deal that netted the club Devin Williams.
Rice later added another home run in the second inning, pushing his season total to eight. The 26-year-old has not only been one of the early standouts for the Yankees, posting a 186 wRC+, but across MLB. He ranks sixth in OPS. Behind the scenes, the Yankees are already having discussions on how they can fit him into the lineup whenever Giancarlo Stanton returns from his bilateral tennis elbow injury.
After a Paul Goldschmidt groundout, Cody Bellinger, who was moved down to fifth in the batting order because of his early-season struggles, added a solo home run. In total, the Yankees hit six home runs in a 15-3 rout over the Orioles. They’ve now hit 51 home runs so far this season, which is a club record for most home runs in April.
It wasn’t all good news for the Yankees in the first inning, though. Second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. exited the game with right flank discomfort. After fouling off a pitch from Gibson, Chisholm immediately reached for his side before Boone and a trainer emerged from the dugout. The second baseman took a few practice swings before staying in the game. Chisholm then doubled down the right field line and slid into third head first after an error from right fielder Ramón Laureano.
“The (coaches) told me that was my best swing I’ve ever taken,” Chisholm said of his swing on his double.
The Yankees replaced Chisholm with Oswald Peraza. After the game, Boone said Chisholm has “definitely got something going on with the oblique.” He will undergo testing back in New York to see if there’s anything more than just discomfort. Boone said he is “a little bit” concerned that Chisholm could hit the injured list.
“I’m really not as concerned as everybody else. I feel pretty good,” Chisholm said. “I tore my oblique before. I know it’s not torn. I could cough without any pain. It was just to be cautious and not try to overdo it.”
If Chisholm were to miss time, Peraza is the likeliest candidate to take over at second base. Veteran DJ LeMahieu has taken reps at second base on his rehab assignment, but it was paused on Tuesday. Boone told reporters pregame that LeMahieu needed to take a preemptive cortisone shot in his hip because he felt discomfort. It’s expected that LeMahieu can resume his rehab assignment later this week, but he’ll likely require more time in the minors.
(Top photo: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
