TAMPA, Fla. – After a nearly two-hour weather delay to start Tuesday night’s game, the Yankees came out swinging at Steinbrenner Field.
With one out, Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton connected on back-to-back-to-back home runs against Tampa Bay Rays‘ right-handed starter Shane Baz.
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Both Judge and Bellinger connected off 1-1 cutters and Stanton rocked an 0-2, 98-mph fastball for a 3-0 first inning lead.
Judge’s blast to center, his 40th home run of the year, traveled an estimated 429 feet, and it brought the thousands of Yankees fans to their feet at GMS Field – the temporary home of the Rays and the Yanks’ spring training home.
Before that home run, Judge was batting .229 (8-for-35) with two homers, six RBI and an .854 OPS in 11 games since coming off the injury list due a strained flexor.
The flexor issue has prevented Judge from playing the outfield, making him a DH-only option and impacting Stanton, the club’s regular DH.
After being a reserve player during the Yankees’ weekend sweep at St. Louis, Stanton was in right field Tuesday night at Steinbrenner Field, his first outfield start since last Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
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In the second inning, Yankees utility player Jose Caballero belted an opposite field two-run homer off Baz, in Caballero’s return game against the Rays – who sent him to the Yankees at the July 31 MLB trade deadline.
Caballero was getting just his second start at third base with the Yanks, over regular third baseman Ryan McMahon.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Yankees hit three straight HRs to start game vs Rays