Bader believe it, Yankees

Yankees shut out Giants in two of three games, take first series

The Yankees wrapped up their first series of the season on Sunday against the San Francisco Giants, taking two of three games, and not just taking them, shutting them out. With a 5-0 victory Thursday, a 5-7 loss on Saturday, and a 6-0 win over the Giants on Sunday, the Yankees primarily dominated.

Cole sets new Opening Day record

Gerrit Cole picked up right where he left off last season when he broke Ron Guidry’s single-season strikeout record with 257 strikeouts (previously 248 by Guidry). On Opening Day, Cole struck out 11 batters in 6 innings pitched, allowing 0 runs, surpassing the previously held Yankees' Opening Day record of 9 strikeouts. This set the tone for the game, giving the Yankees the upper-hand, and ultimately the shutout.

King of New York on track to hit 108 bombs

Aaron James Judge "The King of New York" returned to the Bronx as the 16th Captain of the New York Yankees on Thursday. The thought of Aaron Judge returning to the Bronx on Opening Day in grey and orange, along with Jon Heyman’s premature false alarm on Twitter, haunted us all this offseason. You couldn’t have written a more perfect continuation of the story than for him to return to the Bronx in pinstripes and crush his first homerun of the season, the first homerun of the season in all of baseball, in his first at-bat.

Judge sent another ball to the moon in Sunday’s game with an exit velocity of 111.4 mph. That was the hardest hit ball of the game – until the Stantonian blast that would soon follow.

In his first 13 at-bats, Judge is batting .462 (AVG) with 6 hits, 2 homeruns, and 4 RBI’s.

GONEcarlo sends ball flying 485 ft.

Joining Judge on the track for 108 bombs this year is his Super Bash Bro, Giancarlo Stanton with 2 homeruns on the season. In his second homerun of the season, Stanton absolutely annihilated the ball in the 4th inning of Sunday’s game, just after Judge, sending the ball 485 feet and 117.8 mph, clearing the batter’s eye at Yankee Stadium.

Volpe gets first major league hit, on track to rob 162 bases

Rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe got his first big league hit of his career in Saturday’s game with a line single to left. The ball just squeaked past the diving attempt of Giants' shortstop Brandon Crawford (Gerrit Cole’s brother-in-law). The ball was thrown into the Yankees' dugout for 21-year-old Volpe to keep. Additionally, Volpe's baserunning has proven to be worth the hype. In his first three big league games, he has stolen three bases. He is the first New York Yankee to achieve this in 110 years, and the fifth player since 1901 in all of MLB to achieve this feat.

Rookie Jhony Brito brings Jhony Bravo

Yankees’ rookie Jhony Brito was given his first opportunity to start in the big leagues on Sunday after he wowed the Yankees' coaching staff this spring season with 10 strikeouts and 3 runs earned in 13 innings for a 2.08 ERA. In Brito's first major league start, he struck out 6 batters, allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk in 5 shutout innings, for a total of 76 pitches. Brito used his changeup to finish the Giants in all 6 of his strikeouts. Immediately following the game, the Yankees sent the 25-year-old righty to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. The Yankees will go back on a four-man rotation this week with a day off later this week, however, I won’t be surprised to see Brito back in the Bronx, especially if Frankie Montas and Luis Severino continue on the injury path. Brito joins just three other pitchers, including Jonathan Loiaisiga, Luis Gil, and Sam Militello as the only Yankees since WWII to throw at least five scoreless innings in his debut.

Yankees get first series win of the season

It’s always a good thing when you can claim the first series of the year, especially when it’s on the home turf, but to throw in two shutouts, the season is looking bright for the Yankees.

On deck

The Yankees open up a three-game series at home with the Phillies on Monday, followed by their first series on the road, a three-game series in Baltimore starting Thursday.

Jonna M. Perlinger