TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger both hit two home runs, Aaron Judge launched his 40th of the season and the New York Yankees matched a franchise record with nine longballs Tuesday night in a 13-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Judge, Bellinger and Stanton went back-to-back-to-back in the first inning to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead four batters into the game — after the first pitch was delayed nearly two hours by rain.
José Caballero connected twice for his first career multihomer game. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ben Rice also went deep for the Yankees, who won their fourth straight and looked awfully comfortable in a road game at their spring training home.
New York took full advantage of the cozy dimensions before a crowd of 10,046 at George M. Steinbrenner Field, where the Rays are playing while Tropicana Field undergoes repairs.
Bellinger finished 4 for 5 with three RBIs.
Following the long rain delay, Shane Baz (8–10) gave up Judge's 429-foot shot to center field. Bellinger followed with a 381-foot drive to right, and Stanton lined a 386-footer to right-center.
Baz allowed six runs and seven hits, including five homers, in three innings. He has yielded 29 earned runs in his last 28 innings (9.32 ERA) over six starts.
Carlos Rodón (13-7) earned the win, allowing two runs in six innings.
New York also hit nine home runs in its second game of the season, a 20-9 victory over Milwaukee on March 29 at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees became the first team in major league history to hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the first inning three times in one season (also March 29 and April 29).
Judge became the fourth Yankees player with at least four 40-homer seasons, joining Babe Ruth (11), Lou Gehrig (5) and Mickey Mantle (4). Judge hit 52 homers in 2017, 62 in 2022 and 58 in 2024.
Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (10-5, 2.60 ERA) starts Wednesday against Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler (1–2, 3.94).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
