New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge ripped his first home run of 2020 against the Baltimore Orioles.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Yankees brought their bats to play the Orioles on Wednesday.
Even though Asher Wojciechowski has nasty stuff, an impressive spin rate, and is very much underrated, that didn’t stop DJ LeMahieu from nailing a home run off the foul pole just after the curtain rose.
(Clears throat) That’s my — sorry, that’s our DJ.
And two innings later, after a clean second for Woj, the Yanks proceeded to drop bombs so big they would get you banned from ESPN (if you criticized a sitting Senator).
First, Aaron Judge lofted one to deep left that just kept carrying and carrying, hitting the empty planks in left for his first home run of the year.
First blast of 2020, 111th of his esteemed Major League career. Not bad, kid.
But, in terms of swagger, Aaron Hicks’ follow-up definitely took the cake. After a walk to Giancarlo Stanton, Hicks styled one into deep right, bouncing just beyond the high scoreboard wall.
He was definitely trying to Griffey Jr. that one off the warehouse. The way he dropped the bat…you just know it.
After a few innings at Camden Yards (which, of course, were not on the schedule), it seems the Yankees bats have shaken off the requisite rust that comes with skipping three days’ worth of competitive games. Except Gary Sanchez, he’s not ready yet.
Hicks, Judge and LeMahieu are a venerable trio, but perhaps the biggest upset of this game is that Gleyber Torres hasn’t gone yardy yet, lifting a weak fly ball to center shortly after Judge found the seats. What gives? Without Gary Thorne in the building, it just doesn’t feel the same?
Honestly, we feel that, too.