For one game, one nine-inning bundle of chaos for the history books, the Yankees made it easy to forget that 41 homers worth of power bolted to Queens and completely reshaped their offseason.
For one game, as each of the nine homers that set a franchise record stacked together, the Yankees provided a blueprint for how a potent offense can cover up lapses by a pitching staff decimated by injuries and a defense that — even with the fresh start of a new year — can’t get out of its own way.
For one game, one historical 20-9 drubbing of the Brewers in Game 2 of the season-opening series Saturday, the Yankees found ways to break records, tie other marks and still prompt plenty of head-scratching.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a three-run home run during the fourth inning on Saturday.Robert Sabo for NY Post
They became the third team in MLB history to slug at least nine homers in a game.
Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge went back-to-back-to-back on three pitches against ex-Yankee Nestor Cortes to open the game — the first time that transpired in team history.
Judge added two more homers, earned a curtain call and ensured his AL MVP defense opened with a blazing start.
Oswald Peraza hit the team record ninth homer as a pinch hitter in the seventh.
Aaron Judge celebrates his second homer of the day.JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Aaron Judge was all smiles during his huge day.Robert Sabo for NY Post
The first act of Max Fried’s $218 million Yankees tenure opened with some good, some bad and plenty of ugly when paired with the errors, which included one by the left-hander.
And after that marathon of a second game to usher in a marathon of a season, the Yankees are 2-0 for a third time in four years.
“It was electric, from the stadium to the guys in the dugout locked in, fired up,” Judge said of the opening frame. “… We’re on a mission. A lot of guys are disappointed with what happened last year, myself included, and it starts with preparing ourselves now.”
Oswald Peraza hit the ninth Yankees homer of the afternoon.JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
It all started when Aaron Boone’s decision to hit Goldschmidt leadoff for the first time in his career paid off, as the 37-year-old sent a four-seam fastball 412 feet over the left-center fence.
Then, Bellinger and Judge crushed the next two pitches, and Austin Wells added his second of the year later in the frame.
By that point, Cortes’ return had turned into a nightmare.
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Nestor Cortes had a day to forget.JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Nestor Cortes reacts in the dugout after his brutal Bronx return.JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
“That was a punch in the mouth right there,” Boone said of the first inning.
The lefty Cortes, back in The Bronx after an offseason trade sent him to Milwaukee and brought All-Star closer Devin Williams to the Yankees bullpen, lasted just six outs and allowed eight runs on six hits and five walks.
After recording a pair of outs in the second, Cortes eventually allowed a three-run homer to Volpe — his second of the year — and was pulled after Jasson Domínguez walked to start the third.
He left postgame before talking with reporters in what the Brewers told The Post was a miscommunication.
Unlike in Thursday’s season-opening win, when the Yankees collected a pair of early homers and then struggled to add before nearly blowing the game in the ninth, they kept building on their early foundation.
They launched their seventh homer before the Brewers recorded their seventh out.
New York Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. was part of the home run parade.Robert Sabo for NY Post
Cody Bellinger hit his first Yankees homer on Saturday.Robert Sabo for NY Post
Paul Goldschmidt started the barrage in the first inning.Robert Sabo for NY Post
Judge hit a grand slam before Jazz Chisholm Jr. went back-to-back in the third off Connor Thomas.
Judge’s third blast allowed the Yankees to tie the team record, and he came within feet of a fourth homer, doubling off the Bank of America sign in the sixth inning, before flying out in the eighth.
“We had an unfortunate game,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, “and a lot of it was due to how good the Yankees are. But today was an ass whooping.”
Max Fried made his Yankees debut on Saturday.JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Still, even with the lopsided score, it was far from a spotless win. Fried at times looked like the version of the pitcher the Yankees will need with ace Gerrit Cole out for the season, but he struggled with command (two walks, two hit batters), allowing six runs, including two earned, and failed to make it out of the fifth inning.
The Yankees committed five errors, including two by Pablo Reyes and one by Volpe, and didn’t exactly help their quest to put 2024’s defensive woes in the past.
It was a busy day on the scoreboard at Yankee Stadium.JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Their 4-0 lead after a historic first inning was almost erased by the time their next round of at-bats started.
But nine homers and 20 runs will hide a lot. Maybe that will just be the 2025 Yankees.
