The New York Yankees channeled their Murderers' Row past on Saturday, punishing the Milwaukee Brewers with one swing of the bat after another. They belted a franchise-record nine home runs in a 20-9 victory, with three of them coming from defending American League MVP Aaron Judge. The Bronx Bombers got to work right away, inflicting most of their damage at an incredibly early point in the game.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. launched the Yankees' seventh homer of the day in the bottom of the third inning, which is the most dingers an MLB franchise has ever hit through three innings, according to Sarah Langs. The slug-a-thon made for an utterly thrilling afternoon at Yankee Stadium, and a complete nightmare for the Brewers' pitching staff. Nestor Cortes, in particular, will try to quickly forget this disastrous outing.

It was a brutal homecoming for the 2022 All-Star left-handed pitcher, who was sent to Milwaukee as part of the Devin Williams offseason trade. He allowed back-to-back-to-back home runs to Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge. Soon after the MVP trio's thunderous start to the action, Austin Wells gave New York its fourth blast of the first inning. Cortes' return ended after just two innings, but he was certainly not the Yankees' only victim.

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Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. each went yard a bit later, and pinch-hitter Oswald Peraza delivered the team's ninth and final long ball in the seventh, marking New York's highest homer total ever in a single game. The history-making performance actually overshadowed Max Fried's Yankees debut.

The $218-million-dollar man did not make the grand first impression he intended to, as five errors (he committed one of them) limited him to just 4 2/3 innings of work. That's right, on a day in which the club scored 20 runs and smashed nine bombs, Fried gets a no-decision. He allowed two earned runs, struck out four batters, walked two and surrendered seven hits in the abbreviated outing.

New York must produce cleaner, more complete efforts going forward, given that 20-run eruptions are quite rare. But this is a potentially revealing performance for the reigning AL champions. Amid all the panic surrounding the Yankees' injuries, they reminded people that they boast a deep and reputable lineup capable of bombarding pitchers without warning.