Aaron Judge woke up Wednesday feeling dangerous and proceeded to pummel the Washington Nationals to lead the New York Yankees to a 9-1 victory. Judge was a ball of energy at the plate as he launched three home runs. It was the first time for the reigning American League Most Valuable Player to pull off such a feat in a single game. It's a rare accomplishment, but not too strange for catcher Kyle Higashioka.

“I joked with him. I said, ‘I remember my first time,'” Higashioka shared after the game about what he told Judge about the outfielder's monster performance (via Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News Sports).

For those who need a little bit more contest, it can be remembered that Higashioka had three home runs in a game himself way back in 2020 during a 13-2 home victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. That was also during the middle of the pandemic, so not many people can say that they saw Higashioka did it live. Fortunately for Higashioka, his memorable night has video evidence and doesn't just exist in his imagination.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMefx83FXkU

One of Aaron Judge's home runs in the Nationals game went for a grand slam that also drove Higashioka to home plate in the second inning.

With that victory, the Yankees prevented their losing skid from reaching 10 games. Judge hopes that his big night will be the start of a turnaround for New York, which, at 61-65, is still 9.5 games behind for the last Wild Card place in the AL.