In 1987, homers ruled. Mark McGwire launched 49 to obliterate the existing rookie record. Over in the NL, Andre Dawson matched that tally, making the ’87 season the first since 1961 to see multiple players climb so high. In all, 28 players hit at least 30 home runs, more than any other previous season. Don Mattingly set an MLB record with six grand slams and tied the all-time mark with four-baggers in eight straight games. Even Wade Boggs joined the boom, pocketing 24 longballs, more than he had totaled over the previous three years combined and more than double he’d have in any other season in his career. So funny then, that amid all this thunder, the Padres’ trio of Marvell Wynne, Tony Gwynn and John Kruk built an unprecedented feat. By season’s end, those three would have a combined 29 longballs, but on April 13, they were homer royalty. Facing the Giants’ Roger Mason, Wynne opened the bottom of the first with one down the right field line to get his club on the board. Next up, Gwynn also put one into the seats. Then Kruk finished off the early salvo, depositing another over the fence to make the Padres the first team ever to open a first inning with homers from its first three batters.
Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge opened an historic day for the Bronx Bombers, homering as the first three batters in the first inning. By the time things were all done, the Yankees had pummeled Brewers pitching to the scope of nine homers and 11 extra-base hits in a 20-9 victory. Aside from those top three, New York also got homers from Jazz Chisholm, Jr., Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells and Oswald Peraza.
~New York is the 10th team to open a game with home runs from its first three batters. The full list looks like this:
| Date | Team | Batters |
| 4/13/1987 | Padres | Marvell Wynne, Tony Gwynn, John Kruk |
| 5/28/2003 | Braves | Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa, Gary Sheffield |
| 9/9/2007 | Brewers | Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, Ryan Braun |
| 5/10/2012 | Orioles | Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy, Nick Markakis |
| 7/21/2017 | D’Backs | David Peralta, AJ Pollock, Jake Lamb |
| 6/10/2019 | D’Backs | Jarrod Dyson, Ketel Marte, David Peralta |
| 6/9/2022 | Twins | Luis Arráez, Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa |
| 10/4/2022 | Mets | Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil |
| 8/31/2024 | Dodgers | Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman |
| 3/29/2025 | Yankees | Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge |
~New York’s nine homers established a new franchise record, eclipsing the eight the club had compiled in contests in 1939 and in 2007. The nine fell one shy of the Major League record held by the 1987 Blue Jays. The 11 extra-base hits fell one shy of the franchise record, with Yankees teams in 1920, 1936 and 2003 each having 12 in a game. New York’s seven players with at least one home run also came up just shy of the Major League record, with the 1999 Reds having eight players go deep. In that game, on September 4, current Yankees skipper Aaron Boone was one of Cincinnati’s homerers.
~Aaron Judge went yard three times, added a double and drove in eight runs.
*The four extra-base hits tied a franchise record: a height reached 28 previous times, including twice by Judge. Judge’s three games with four extra-base hits are the third most for the Yankees, behind five from Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio.
*The eight RBI tied Judge with 13 others for the fourth most in Yankees history. Tony Lazzeri’s 11 in 1936 remains the standard.
*This effort marked Judge’s third game with three homers. Within franchise annals, Gehrig had four such games (including one with four round-trippers), while DiMaggio and Álex Rodríguez also had three.
*Judge’s nine RBI through two games ties Milwaukee’s Sixto Lezcano (1980) and San Francisco’s Barry Bonds (2002) for the most in the modern era.
~Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe were a special part of the home run festival. With their longballs, each homered for the second time in as many games. Before this year, there had been 13 Yankees to have four-baggers in each of the team’s first two contests. Positionally, Volpe is the only shortstop among the 15 and Wells is one of three catchers, along with Elston Howard in 1963 and Gary Sánchez in 2021. The full list looks like this:
NYY – HRs in Games 1 & 2 of a Season
Lou Gehrig in 1932 and 1933
Giancarlo Stanton in 2020 and 2022
Tommy Henrich in 1949
Elston Howard in 1963
Bobby Murcer in 1969
Graig Nettles in 1973
Dave Winfield in 1983
Hideki Matsui in 2005
Mark Teixeira in 2011
Gary Sánchez in 2021
Anthony Rizzo in 2022
Anthony Volpe in 2025
Austin Wells in 2025
Osvaldo Bido allowed two runs (one earned) over five innings to snap the Athletics starters’ run of scoreless outings, but the righty did pick up the win in the team’s 4-2 victory over Seattle. The Athletics own a 1.38 team ERA through three games, their lowest at this stage since the 2015 club had a 1.00. In Houston, Spencer Arrighetti allowed a run over six innings to record the win in the team’s 2-1 victory. The Astros have posted a 1.33 ERA through their first three games, their lowest at this point since the 2017 team had a 1.16. Finally, Jonathan Cannon contributed five innings of scoreless ball for the White Sox in their 1-0 loss to the Angels. Chicago’s staff has posted a 1.00 ERA through their first two contests, that team’s lowest at this point since the 2013 ChiSox had a 0.50.
Freddie Freeman homered and doubled in the Dodgers’ win, nudging his extra-base hit tally up to 885. Freeman is 12th among all first baseman (67% games at 1B) with his total 35 behind Willie McCovey’s. Overall, regardless of position, Freeman is ranked 72nd, two extra-base hits behind Harmon Killebrew. For all players through their age-35 seasons, Freeman’s 885 ranks 26th, six behind Rafael Palmeiro and Carlos Delgado.
Arizona’s Eugenio Suárez homered again to become the second player in franchise history to open a season with longballs in each of the team’s first three games. Last year, Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. did this. No player has begun with homers in each of his club’s first four games since Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich in 2019.
Shota Imanaga worked seven innings of one-run ball to record his first victory of the year and lower his career ERA to 2.78. For all southpaws in the liveball era through their first 31 games with a minimum of 160.0 innings, that mark stands as the 12th lowest, in between Al Downing’s 2.72 and Emil Yde’s 2.82. Among this same group, Imanaga’s 16 wins tie him with Harvey Haddix and Wade Miley for the second most, behind Dontrelle Willis’ 17.
For the second time in three games, the Marlins got to celebrate a walk-off win and for the second time, the victory showed a 5-4 score. Miami and Pittsburgh have opened with all three games in their series decided by a run, with this outcome on Saturday one of nine around the Majors to be decided by that margin. This century, the most one-run games came in 2013, when there were 754. That year, there were 19 through all teams’ first five games. This year, with most clubs still shy of having played five contests, there have been 14.
Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz drew four walks and added a pair of steals to his line on Saturday. The 26-year-old is currently tied for the Major League lead with six walks and leads outright with four stolen bases. He’s one of three players in the modern era to have this many of each through his club’s first three games, joining Harry Hooper in 1920 and Bill Doran in 1986. Thanks in part to Cruz’s early season work on the basepaths, the Pirates lead the Majors with 14 stolen bases, with the next closest team having six. Those 14 match the most for any team through three games since 1901, with the 1984 Indians also at 14. The 1903 Giants and 1913 Senators come in next, with 13 apiece.
In the Rockies’ 2-1 win over the Rays, Colorado’s starter Antonio Senzatela allowed 11 baserunners over 4.1 innings and yet somehow emerged unscored upon. Since 1901, there have been 534 instances of a starter going at least four innings but failing to complete five and yet coming out with no runs allowed. Of these 534, Senzatela’s 11 baserunners tie for the second highest count. In 1990, Kansas City’s Chris Codiroli allowed 12 over four-and-two-thirds innings. In a remarkable line, the Royals’ right-hander surrendered only one hit, but walked eight and hit three batters while striking out five. Among this group of 534, Senzatela’s nine hits allowed are the most.
Bo Bichette went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, his 14th career game with at least four knocks. That tally is already the fourth most for the Blue Jays’ franchise, with Shannon Stewart (20), Tony Fernández (17) and Vernon Wells (15) ahead.
As part of a four-hit game on Saturday, Baltimore’s Jordan Westburg clocked two out of the park. The 26-year-old has six hits with three homers in this early season, numbers only one other player in the franchise’s history has produced through three games. In 2013, Chris Davis opened with three homers and seven hits – a furious start that ultimately led to 53 homers, 96 extra-base hits and AL title belts in both longballs and RBI.
Thanks to Baseball Reference and its extraordinary research database, Stathead, for help in assembling this piece.
Roger Schlueter
As Sr. Editorial Director for Major League Baseball Productions from 2004-2015, Roger served as a hub for hundreds of hours of films, series, documentaries and features: as researcher, fact-checker, script doctor, and developer of ideas. The years at MLB Production gave him the ideal platform to pursue what galvanized him the most – the idea that so much of what takes place on the field during the MLB regular and postseason (and is forever beautifully condensed into a box score) has connections to what has come before. Unearthing and celebrating these webs allows baseball to thrive, for the present can come alive and also reignite the past.