The New York Yankees on Saturday became the first team to homer on each of the first three pitches of a game, and they did so at the expense of former Yankee Nestor Cortes, who made the start for the visiting Milwaukee Brewers ( MIL-NYY GameTracker ). In all, Yankee hitters ambushed Cortes for four first-inning homers, as he returned to the Bronx following an offseason three-player trade that sent him to the Brewers in exchange for closer Devin Williams . The first three of the frame, as noted, came in back-to-back-to-back fashion -- the first time in franchise history that the Yankees have hit three straight homers to start a game -- by Paul Goldschmidt , Cody Bellinger , and Aaron Judge .
Goldschmidt and Bellinger, new to the Yankees this season, punished fastballs from Cortes, while Judge sent a cutter 468 feet to left. Here's a look at those three opening pitches from Cortes: WHAT A START FOR THE @YANKEES !!! 3 pitches, 3 home runs!! pic.twitter.
com/xWqAqH9X0y Goldschmidt, who began the ritual abuse of Cortes, was batting leadoff for the first time in his 15-year MLB career. Later in the frame, Yanks catcher Tyler Wells , who caught 22 of Cortes' 30 starts last season, made it four homers for the hosts in the bottom of the first: Austin Wells makes it FOUR home runs in the 1st inning 🤯 pic.twitter.
com/I5BX8Ep149 Cortes also issued two walks in the inning but managed to avoid further indignities by getting a ground-out and a pair of called strikeouts among and after all.
