Good things tend to happen when the New York Yankees have a fully-healthy lineup, or even just have Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton together at the same time.
The Bronx Bombers’ big boppers got the Yankees off to a dream start in Game 1 of the ALDS, both hitting home runs in their resounding 9-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night at Petco Park in San Diego.
Judge’s solo shot in the fifth inning gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead before Stanton provided the exclamation point — a grand slam in the ninth inning to put Game 1 beyond all shadow of a doubt.
Despite being teammates in New York for three seasons now — all of which included trips to the postseason — Monday night was just the 13th playoff game that both Stanton and Judge were in the Yankees’ lineup.
It also further cemented the notion that they are almost unbeatable in the postseason when they’re both available.
When the second coming of the Bash Bros. are in the lineup together, the Yankees are 10-3 in the postseason while averaging 6.6 runs per game.
For Judge, his fifth-inning blast was already his 10th-career postseason round-tripper, becoming just the 12th Yankee in franchise history to reach that mark.
Meanwhile, maybe it’s time for Yankees fans to get off Stanton’s back as the gargantuan slugger constantly drew the ire of an impatient and — let’s face it — spoiled fan base.
After struggling in his first-ever postseason appearances — most notably in 2018 — as a nine-year veteran which does provide an initial and understandable learning curve, Stanton has hit a new gear in the postseason this year.
He put up three home runs in the Yankees’ first three games of the playoffs this year, providing a boisterous reminder that he still possesses one of the most feared bats in all of baseball.
He’s also just the eighth-different Yankee in franchise history to put together a postseason home run streak of at least three games:
Reggie Jackson: 4 games (1977)
Lou Gehrig: 4 (1928)
Aaron Judge: 3 (2018)
Alex Rodriguez: 3 (2009)
Bernie Williams: 3 (1996, 2001)
Hank Bauer: 3 (1958)
Johnny Mize: 3 (1952)
“I feel great for him because this is what I envisioned for him last year,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I felt like he was in such a good place from his at-bats. We saw it again this year and now carrying it into the postseason. He’s such a dangerous hitter in the middle of our lineup.”
