Yankees make prediction after 9-homer onslaught

TAMPA, Fla. — Everyone stood for the anthem, then the tarp was rolled onto the Steinbrenner Field infield with no rain.

A storm was coming, the Yankees and Rays were told.

Did it ever.

And that was nothing compared to the in-game thunder and lightning.

After a lot of heavy rain that delayed the first pitch almost two hours until 9:31 p.m., the Yankees reigned homers in their spring training ballpark.

Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton went back-to-back-to-back in the first inning with one out off Rays right-hander Shane Baz, and that was the start of a power show for the ages.

The Yankees finished with a franchise-record tying nine homers for the second time this season in a 13-3 romp of the Rays.

One more and the Yankees would have equaled the MLB record of 10, set by the Blue Jays in an 18-3 win over the Orioles on Sept. 14, 1987.

“We’ve got to pick it up,” Bellinger said with a smile after a two-homer game, his 23rd and 24th.

Yankees super utility player Jose Caballero who also hit two to double his season total, made a little prediction after hearing 10 is the record.

“One short? That’s OK,” Caballero said. “Maybe tomorrow.”

Stanton hit two homers, while Jazz Chisholm, Ben Rice and Judge hit one apiece.

“That’s why (we) are the Bronx Bombers,” added Caballero, who joined the Yankees in a July 31 trade from the Rays.

The first three were long gone.

After Trent Grisham struck out looking to start the game, Judge reached the 40-homer plateau for the fourth time with a 429-foot missile to center. Bellinger than rocketed a 381-foot homer to right and Stanton, who was back in right field for the first time in six days, followed with a 386-foot, opposite-field bomb to right.

“Impressive,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Judgy just absolutely kills one to center and obviously Belly and Giancarlo follow it right up. Great swings right out the gate to give us a little bit of a lead there.

The Yankees ended up with 3,526 feet in homers, which is two-thirds of a mile.

“We have a really good offense,” Bellinger said. “In the ebbs and flows of a 162-game season, it’s not always going to be pretty, but we all believe in each other and the talent’s there and we’re doing a good job of putting it all together.”

The Yankees’ 207 homers in 125 games is by far the most in the majors. The Dodgers are second with 187 followed by the Angels, who are third in the majors and second in the AL with 178.

The Yankees’ single-game record was eight two times until the second game of this season when they hit nine in 20-9 win over the Brewers at Yankee Stadium on March 29.

“To do it twice, that’s remarkable,” Boone said. “And there were some ones that were seriously hit, too. Just a really impressive offensive showing against a team that obviously it’s not always easy to score runs against.”

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Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected].