Yankees and their new bats put on another dazzling power show to finish historic sweep of Brewers

“Damn the torpedoes” may soon take on a new meaning around major league pitching staffs. 

But Yankees bats of all shapes and sizes, not just the new torpedo-style ones, spent the weekend clobbering home runs. 

A day after crushing a franchise record nine home runs, the Yankees belted four more to tie a major league record with 15 home runs in their first three games of the season. 

Aaron Judge, user of a regular old bat, began the day with a two-run shot to give him four homers in two days. Jazz Chisholm Jr., one of five Yankees using the new torpedo-style bat, went deep twice.

And Ben Rice, not in the torpedo gang, added his first of the season for good measure. 

The result was another demolition of the Brewers, this one 12-3, to finish off a sweep on a chilly Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. 

Jazz Chisholm Jr. hits a two-run home run during the third inning of the Yankees’ win over the Brewers on March 30, 2025.

“We fire torpedoes all around the park, you feel me?” Chisholm said. “We hit the ball all around the park. We play defense, we got speed, we do it all. Over here, it’s about scoring runs and winning games. Our goal — it’s not a realistic goal — but it’s to win 162. We go out there to win every game. So that’s our mindset and that’s how we’re going to keep going.” 

By the end of the historic season-opening series, the Yankees had scored 36 runs while generating a craze about the new torpedo bats, though they only accounted for part of the damage. 

“What this offense has been doing is pretty special,” said Marcus Stroman, the beneficiary of it on Sunday while giving up three runs across 4 ²/₃ innings. “I think we’re all kind of in awe, watching the balls fly out of the stadium at the rate they currently are.’ 

Before Sunday’s game, Judge chuckled at the idea of using one of the new bats that have become something of a sensation, wondering why he would change anything after hitting 62 and 58 home runs in two of his past three seasons.

Then he went out and became the first Yankee to hit four home runs in the first three games of a season. 

The reigning AL MVP, who drilled three homers Saturday, picked up where he left off by ripping a 410-foot, two-run home run off Aaron Civale in the first inning. 

Judge walked in his next three plate appearances but came around to score each time. The first came intentionally with none on and two out in the third inning, after Judge had worked a 3-0 count, with none of the pitches particularly close to the strike zone.

But Chisholm made the Brewers pay, blasting a two-run homer to right off Civale to make it 5-1. 

“Seeing people pitch around him just to face me, it gets me a little bit more hyped up,” Chisholm said.

Cody Bellinger’s “torpedo” bat stands during the third inning on March 30, 2025.

Chisholm’s second homer of the day (and third of the season) came in the seventh inning off Joel Payamps, a three-run shot that made it a 12-3 lead. 

“If they’re going to put me on base and pitch to the next guy, that guy’s got to step up,” Judge said. “That’s what [Chisholm] did all game today with those two homers. It’s fun to see him go out there and do his thing. … He’s been swinging such a hot bat all the way since spring training, so excited to see what he does this year.” 

The Yankees also used good baserunning and situational hitting to pad their lead late, showing they can also manufacture runs without leaving the park. 

Aaron Judge (l.) and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (r.) celebrate after a Chisholm home run on March 30, 2025.

That was more than enough offensive support for Stroman, whose biggest blemish was a two-run home run hit by Jake Bauers, a first baseman who finished the game pitching for a second straight day in the blowout. 

“Look, I said it before Opening Day, it’s also the week of overreactions,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s just three games. But you take wins when you can get them, because those don’t come off the board. 

“Anytime you can sweep a team, especially a playoff-caliber team like the Brewers to start the season, that’s always a good thing. But it’s also one series.”