Paul Goldschmidt is off to a hot start in his debut season with the New York Yankees. While Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani put on a show during New York’s World Series rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Goldschmidt reminded fans that he has his own MVP Award with a shot to right center in the third inning.

Goldschmidt hit his sixth home run of the season, giving the Yankees an early 5-2 lead. Incredibly, he was the third former MVP to hit a home run in the first three innings of Friday’s matchup, per MLB on X.

Paul Goldschmidt looks rejuvenated with the Yankees

May 24, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; New York Yankees first base Paul Goldschmidt (48) celebrates scoring a run in the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The reigning American and National League MVPs went head to head for the first time this season. Aaron Judge started things off with a massive bomb to center field in the top of the first inning. Then, Shohei Ohtani followed with his own blast to center in the bottom of the first.

Goldschmidt was the next to join the party, going deep in the third inning and Ohtani hit his second shot of the game in the sixth, delivering his MLB-leading 22nd homer of the season.

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At full strength a Yankees/Dodgers matchup could feature five former MVP home runs. But Freddie Freeman stayed in the yard during Friday’s series opener (although he went 3-4 with two doubles) and Mookie Betts missed the game with an injured toe.

The Yankees signed Goldschmidt to a one-year, $12.5 million contract over the offseason and he’s been a surprisingly fantastic addition. The seven-time All-Star is slashing .343/.399/.502 with six home runs, 28 RBI, 37 runs scored and a 155 OPS+. He's already up to 1.9 bWAR in 56 games after topping out at 1.3 bWAR in 154 games last season.

While Goldschmidt’s stats are excellent, they get even better against left-handed relievers. The 15th-year veteran is hitting a preposterous .722 against lefty relievers, which is tops in the AL.

The Yankees are getting strong contributions throughout the lineup this season. On Friday, New York hit four home runs against the Dodgers as Trent Grisham and Austin Wells joined Judge and Goldschmidt.

However, the offensive fireworks failed to get the Yankees the win. Ohtani and the Dodgers broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning and added two more runs in the seventh to get the 8-5 victory. The Yankees are now 35-21 with a 6.5 game division lead.