The New York Yankees tied their single-game home run record on Tuesday night, blasting nine homers in a 13-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. José Caballero’s solo shot in the ninth inning sealed the milestone, which pushed the game past midnight.
New York first set the franchise mark earlier this season on March 29, when they hit nine homers in a 20-9 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium. With this performance, the Yankees became the first team in MLB history to record multiple nine-homer games in a single season.
The power hitting started early. Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton went back-to-back-to-back in the first inning off Rays starter Shane Baz, giving New York a 3-0 lead just four batters into the game after a nearly two-hour rain delay. Baz surrendered five homers before his exit after three innings.
Six Yankees homered in total. Stanton, Bellinger and Caballero each went deep twice, while Judge, Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm Jr. added one apiece. By the sixth inning, the Yankees had already hit eight home runs, all off Tampa Bay pitchers. None came against a position player on the mound.
Judge’s home run was his 40th of the season, marking the first time in his career he has posted back-to-back 40-homer seasons. He is now the sixth Yankee to achieve consecutive 40-homer campaigns, joining Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Jason Giambi and Curtis Granderson.
The win, combined with losses by the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners, vaulted the Yankees to the top of the American League Wild Card standings by one game. They also moved into sole possession of second place in the AL East, sitting five games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.