The New York Yankees wasted no time making a statement to open the 2025 MLB season, dominating the Milwaukee Brewers with a historic three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium. From explosive offensive firepower to strong pitching performances, the Yankees showcased their depth and resilience. Led by Aaron Judge’s remarkable hitting and record-setting contributions from new faces like Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger, the Bronx Bombers proved they are ready to contend. With multiple franchise and MLB records set in the series, the Yankees’ performance was a powerful declaration that they are a team to watch this season.
Opening Day Victory: Wells’ Historic Leadoff Home Run Sets the Tone
On March 27, the Yankees secured a 4-2 win over the Brewers, with catcher Austin Wells making MLB history by becoming the first catcher to hit a leadoff home run on Opening Day. Facing Brewers starter Freddy Peralta, Wells launched a 2-0 fastball into the right-field seats, providing an immediate spark for the Yankees’ offense.
This remarkable feat was complemented by Anthony Volpe’s solo homer in the second inning, further solidifying the Yankees’ early lead.
On the pitching side, starting pitcher Carlos Rodón delivered a strong performance, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out seven over 5 2/3 innings. The bullpen held firm, with new closer Devin Williams navigating a tense ninth inning to secure the save against his former team.
Game Two: A Historic Home Run Barrage
On Saturday, March 29, 2025, the New York Yankees put on a historic power display, crushing the Milwaukee Brewers 20-9 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees set a new franchise record with nine home runs in a single game, becoming just the third team in MLB history to accomplish this feat.
The game started with a bang as Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and Aaron Judge launched back-to-back-to-back home runs on the first three pitches from Brewers starter and former Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes. It was the first time in MLB history that a team had homered on the opening three pitches of a game.
Aaron Judge led the offensive explosion, belting three home runs—including a grand slam—and driving in a career-high eight RBIs. His monster performance earned him a curtain call from the 46,683 fans at the stadium.
Slam! Make noise, b-boys! #RepBX pic.twitter.com/Cz7uy12VaA
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 29, 2025
Newcomers Goldschmidt and Bellinger each added solo shots in the first inning, while young stars Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe, and Oswald Peraza also joined Judge, Chisholm, and the home run barrage, underscoring the depth of the Yankees’ lineup.
Even with the offensive fireworks, the Yankees’ defense had a rough outing, committing five errors that led to four unearned runs. However, their relentless hitting more than made up for the miscues.
On the mound, Max Fried made his debut for the Yankees, with 4 four strikeouts and two earned runs over 4.2 innings. Yoendrys Gómez picked up the win in relief.
For Milwaukee, Brice Turang homered, while Rhys Hoskins, Vinny Capra, and Christian Yelich chipped in with RBI singles. The Brewers racked up 13 hits but couldn’t keep pace with New York’s historic offensive onslaught.
Game Three: Sweep Secured as Yankees Keep Their Foot on the Gas
Riding a wave of momentum, the Yankees entered the series finale on March 30 with a sweep in their sights—and they delivered in dominant fashion with a 12-3 win. Aaron Judge continued his scorching start, launching his fourth home run of the series and setting a new franchise record for the most homers in the first three games of a season. The only player in MLB history to hit more in that span is Adrian Gonzalez, who crushed five for the Dodgers in 2015.
Second-deck serving of Rice 🍚 pic.twitter.com/8l0H6yrY0G
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 30, 2025
Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a monster game, launching two home runs and driving in five runs while continuing to showcase the much-discussed “torpedo bat” and its unique barrel design. Ben Rice also got in on the action, blasting a home run in the bottom of the second, while Paul Goldschmidt had another explosive performance, racking up three hits and an RBI.
Second-deck serving of Rice 🍚 pic.twitter.com/8l0H6yrY0G
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 30, 2025
We like Jazz. @j_chisholm3 🥶 pic.twitter.com/IHpJAq3ZUU
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 30, 2025
Making his season debut, Marcus Stroman turned in a solid outing, striking out three while allowing three earned runs over 4.2 innings. Once again, the Yankees’ bullpen (Tim Hill, Mark Leiter Jr., Fernando Cruz, and Ryan Yarbrough) was light’s out, combining for seven strikeouts across 4.1 innings) and shutting the Brewers out the rest of the way.
With the sweep, the Yankees have tied the 2006 Detroit Tigers’ record for most home runs (15) through the first three games of a season.
Historical Records Etched in Series 1
- Austin Wells became the first Yankees catcher to leadoff for the team.
- Austin Wells became the first leadoff catcher in MLB history to hit a HR in his first plate appearance of the season, since 1900.
- The Yankees hit seven HR in a three-inning span on Saturday, the most of any team in MLB history in a three-inning span.
- The Yankees hit the most HR in a single game in franchise history on Saturday (9).
- The Yankees tied the 2006 Detroit Tigers for the most HR in the first three games of the season (15).
- The Yankees 13 HR in the last two games tied a franchise record for the most in a 2-game span. The only team with more HR in a 2-game span in all of MLB was the 1999 Reds with 14.
- Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and Aaron Judge became the first three-straight HR trio to start a game in MLB history.
- With Austin Wells and Paul Goldschmidt, this was the first time in MLB history that a team hit a leadoff HR in consecutive games, and it was the first career start in the leadoff position for both of them.
- Aaron Judge became the first Yankee to hit four HR in his first three games.
- Aaron Judge now has the second-most RBI in the first three games of a season (11 behind Dolph Camilli with 12 in 1935)
- Aaron Judge now has 319 career HR, which is 40 more than any other player in his first 1,000 career games. He has now played in 996 games.
**Most of these stats are per MLB’s Sarah Langs.
Looking Ahead
The Yankees’ opening series showcased everything fans could have hoped for—power, depth, and strong pitching. With Judge leading the charge and key additions like Goldschmidt and Bellinger making immediate impacts, the Yankees look poised to prove a lot of doubters wrong this season.
New York will have a day off Monday before welcoming the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Bronx for their next series starting Tuesday. Following the Diamondbacks series, the Bombers will hit the road for a three-game series in Pittsburgh next weekend.
