NEW YORK — The Bronx Bombers were out to play on Thursday night.
After subpar offensive performances in the first two games against the Arizona Diamonbacks, the Yankees responded with a gargantuan punch in the series finale, mashing three more homers as they defeated the Diamondbacks, 9-7, to salvage the three-game set.
None other than Aaron Judge got the offensive party started in the bottom of the first. After Ben Rice doubled and Cody Bellinger walked to begin the frame, the two-time AL MVP lined a three-run shot into the Yankees bullpen to jump the Bombers out to a quick 3-0 lead. Judge finished 3 for 5 with four RBIs as he added an RBI single in the fourth.
The 32-year-old tallied his fifth blast of the season, tying Arizona's Eugenio Suarez for the MLB lead. His first-inning homer was the 500th extra-base hit of his career. Only Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gherig reached that total in fewer games in Yankee history.
With Judge settled in as the designated hitter, Yankees manager Aaron Boone opted for Trent Grisham in center field and he made the most of his second start of the season.
The veteran launched a two-run blast into the short porch in the bottom of the third to give the Yanks a 6-3 lead. The 28-year-old’s first homer of the season rounded out a strong performance as he also added an RBI-double in the bottom of the first.
The Bombers' third and final homer came with the most flair as Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s bat flip was all you needed to see to know the ball was heading for the stands. The smooth-swinging second baseman launched a two-run blast in into the Judge’s Chambers in the right-field seats, opening up the lead at 9-3.
The 27-year-old collected his fourth homer of the young season as his first full season in pinstripes is off to an ideal start.
Chisholm’s blast marked the Yankees’ 22nd homer of the season. That is five more than any other team in MLB history through six games, according to Sarah Langs.
While the offense gave their starter plenty of wiggle room, Carlos Carrasco gave the Yankees a strong performance in his first start with the team. The veteran right-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out five.
Carrasco made the team out of spring training due to injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt, and the 38-year-old made the most of his first opportunity. It remains to be seen if the right-hander will be a mainstay in the rotation with Schmidt scheduled to return to the Yankees on April 15 or 16.
The Bombers saw positive offensive performances across the board in their victory. Rice reached base three times as he worked two walks in his season debut out of the leadoff spot, and Jasson Dominguez recorded two hits, including a double off the left-center-field wall.
JC Escarra recorded his first MLB hit in the bottom of the seventh inning, lining a double down the right-field line. Escarra made his first MLB start on Thursday after a long journey to the big leagues, playing five minor league seasons dating back to 2017 with substitute teaching and Uber driving along the way.
Things got rather interesting in the top of the seventh as Ryan Yarbrough surrendered a grand slam to Geroldo Perdomo, cutting the Yankees' lead to 9-7. However, the rest of the arms in the bullpen held it down. Mark Leiter Jr. recorded the final out of the top half of the seventh and the first two outs of the eighth before handing the ball off to Luke Weaver.
Weaver tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings to secure the save and 9-7 victory for the Bombers.
The Yankees (4-2) will head out on the road for the first time to Pittsburgh to kick off a three-game set against the Pirates on Friday at 4:12 p.m. ET. Max Fried will make his second Yankees start against right-hander Mitch Keller.
