BALTIMORE — The New York Yankees became the first team in major league history to open a game with three consecutive home runs more than once in a season when Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge and Ben Rice went deep off Baltimore‘s Kyle Gibson in the first inning on Tuesday night.
New York started the bottom of the first of its March 29 game against Milwaukee with three homers in a row. In that game, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Judge needed only three pitches to hit three homers.
The Yankees added a fourth home run later in the first inning of that game and also Tuesday’s game, making them the first team ever to belt four in the first inning twice in a season.
On Tuesday night, the Yankees hit three of the game’s first five offerings out to right field.
It was an ugly return to the majors for the 37-year-old Gibson, who made 30 starts for the St. Louis Cardinals last season before Baltimore signed him to a $5.25 million, one-year contract in late March. He’d been working in the minors since then before being called up before Tuesday’s game.
After Rice’s home run made it 3-0, Gibson retired Goldschmidt on a grounder before Bellinger also homered. Anthony Volpe‘s RBI double made it 5-0 before the first inning was over.
Rice homered again in the second to make it 6-0.
Not all the news was great for the Yankees, however. Jazz Chisholm Jr., who left the game with right flank discomfort in the first inning.
Chisholm, who is hitting .181 with seven home runs this season, appeared to have hurt something while he was batting. After being checked on, he stayed at the plate and hit a double, advancing to third on an error by right fielder Ramon Laureano.
ESPN Research contributed to this report.