Aaron Judge has gotten off to a nice start in the early going, which has been keyed by starting early.
Of the Yankees captain’s nine home runs, five have come in the first inning, including his past three long balls. In 22 games, he is 9-for-20 (.450) with a walk, double, eight RBIs and a ridiculous 1.726 OPS in the first inning. Early production often translates to wins; the Yankees 11-3 when scoring first.
Sunday in The Bronx, temporary leadoff hitter Ben Rice worked a walk before Judge clobbered the first pitch he saw from Kansas City’s Cole Ragans into Monument Park for an instant 2-0 lead.
The Yankees then sent six more men to the plate and scored another run in the inning, and Aaron Boone said Judge’s quick bat might be contagious.
“There’s probably something to that,” the manager said after sweeping the Royals. “I think when the captain gets it going like he can in the first — a lot, it feels like — it does seem to have a little bit of an effect on things.”
There is one more historic chase to watch involving Judge, whose 90 career first-inning homers trail just Babe Ruth (126) and Mickey Mantle (103) in Yankees history. Since 2024, 43 of his 120 homers have come in the initial inning. His career 1.051 OPS in the first inning is strong — but still less than his mark in the fourth (1.093 OPS) and seventh (1.118 OPS).
Judge himself shrugged at the quick strikes and said he hits at the top of the order (but doesn’t care where he falls).
“I just try to do my job,” Judge said.
Cody Bellinger will bring a season-high eight-game hitting streak into a series in Boston that starts Tuesday. Bellinger has gone 11-for-31 (.355) with a .444 on-base percentage, two homers, two doubles and six RBIs during the streak.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., who has yet to hit a home run or tally a multihit game, sat Sunday and is 4-for-31 with 11 strikeouts, six walks and a .464 OPS in his past 10 games.