The torpedoes kept firing in the Bronx on Sunday, as the New York Yankees continued their barrage against Milwaukee Brewers pitching with four home runs in a 12-3 win.
Aaron Judge began the fireworks with a two-run shot off Aaron Civale in the first inning. With that blast into the seats, Judge became the first player in Yankees history to hit four homers in the team’s first three games of a season.
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The Yankees followed with home runs in each of the next two innings. Ben Rice hit a solo shot with two outs in the second, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run blast in the third after Civale intentionally walked Judge to face the Yankees’ second baseman.
Civale was battered for five runs on four hits, three of them home runs, while lasting three innings.
Chisholm added a three-run homer in the seventh inning to help the Yankees tie the MLB record with 15 home runs in the first three games of the season.
Austin Wells went deep in the team’s season opener to become the first catcher to hit a leadoff homer on Opening Day in MLB history. Paul Goldschmidt batted leadoff Saturday and opened the blitz on former Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes with a home run. Goldschmidt didn’t lead off with a homer on Sunday, but he did hit a single and came around to score on Judge’s long ball.
The Yankees’ four home runs Sunday came after a nine-homer eruption on Saturday, beginning with three long balls on Milwaukee’s first three pitches of the game. The Bronx bombing continued from there, concluding with seven home runs in the opening three innings, which set an MLB record.
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This home run onslaught from the Yankees comes amid the revelation that several of the team’s hitters are using newly designed bats that put more wood in the lower part of the barrel. As a result of more mass toward the “sweet spot” of the bat, closer to the handle, the new bats are shaped a little like bowling pins or torpedoes.
Utilizing hardware that other teams aren’t employing would seemingly lead to controversy and objection among the other 29 MLB clubs. However, the bats are legal, complying with guidelines outlined by baseball rules, specifically MLB Rule 3.02 (via The Athletic):
“The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.” It also notes that “experimental” bats can’t be used “until the manufacturer has secured approval from Major League Baseball of his design and methods of manufacture.”
That doesn’t mean everyone is happy about these bats. Milwaukee reliever Trevor Megill said the Brewers were surprised to see the bats.
“I think it’s terrible,’’ Megill told the New York Post. “We’ll see what the data says. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I feel like it’s something used in slow-pitch softball. It’s genius: Put the mass all in one spot. It might be bush [league]. It might not be. But it’s the Yankees, so they’ll let it slide.”
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How many Yankees are using the “torpedo” bats isn’t clear. Judge isn’t one of them. Asked on Sunday why he hasn’t tried the new bats, last season’s American League MVP and major-league home run leader responded:
“What I did the past couple of seasons speaks for itself,” Judge said. “Why try to change something if you have something that’s working?”
With 95 homers the past two seasons, Judge makes a pretty convincing argument for sticking with what works for him.
