Mind-boggling Aaron Judge HR, hilarious Twins defensive gaffe continue Yankees' surge

So ... Aaron Judge is back, yeah? Yup. And though the previous concerns were valid, we all look that much dumber for even letting our minds wander that far in regard to his April slump. His surge over the last couple weeks has been MVP-esque -- what everyone's been accustomed to when he's on the field.

He continued his tear on Wednesday night in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins. Judge pummeled an 0-0 offering from Pablo López and sent it 467 feet to the third deck at Target Field. That put the Yankees on top 1-0 and kept the momentum going from Tuesday night's 5-1 victory that saw early offensive aggression.

The Yankees scored five runs in the first four innings, gave Carlos Rodón the cushion he needed, and overall logged 13 hits and three walks. That's a productive night.

Judge jumping on that first-pitch fastball was proof the Yankees aren't relenting. On second look, those statcast numbers might be wrong, too.

How was this not 600 feet?

Mind-boggling Aaron Judge HR, hilarious Twins defensive gaffe continue Yankees' surge

It was the longest home run at Target Field since April 24, 2022 and Judge is now tied with Kyle Tucker for the most first-inning home runs in MLB.

Tack that on to Judge's insane production the last two weeks, during which he's hitting .317 with a 1.158 OPS, four doubles, four homers and nine RBI. The Yankees have won eight of their last 10, and that's been among the most influential reasons why.

It wasn't all a power display early on, though. In the top of the second inning, Twins center fielder Willi Castro helped out the Yanks by forgetting how many outs there were.

Gleyber Torres singled, Oswaldo Cabrera singled, and Anthony Volpe logged the sac fly (and there was a good chance Torres would've beaten Castro's throw anyway).

The Yankees' fast start (five hits, two runs) helped set the tone for the evening. They ended up notching a 4-0 victory, once again logging 13 hits and adding two walks. They went 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Sure, it would've been nice to see more runs, but Marcus Stroman twirled six scoreless innings and the bullpen (Luke Weaver and Caleb Ferguson) shut it down.

They'll go for the sweep on Thursday afternoon. Sleep tight.