Starting a game with three consecutive home runs is impressive when it happens once. When it happens twice, it becomes absurd.
That is exactly what happened at Camden Yards on Tuesday when the New York Yankees began the game with three straight home runs from Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge and Ben Rice. After an out was recorded, Cody Bellinger added a fourth home run in the inning.
YANKEES 4 HOME RUNS IN FIRST 5 BATTERS
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) April 29, 2025
(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/4qeFMkKVPW
It is the first time in MLB history that a team has started a game with three consecutive home runs multiple times in a season.
It is the second time in Yankees history that the team has hit four home runs in the first inning, with the first one coming earlier this season.
Both Judge and Bellinger have been a part of the first innings with four home runs, an impressive feat for both players.
Another interesting piece of information is that both of these home run outbursts have come on the 29th day of the month. They happened on both March and April 29th. As noted by MLB, the Yankees do not have a game on May 29.
Good news for opposing teams ... the Yankees are off on May 29 ️ pic.twitter.com/lvKxVIOYda
— MLB (@MLB) April 29, 2025
The Yankees won, 15-3, and are now 18-12 on the season.
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After working to return to the Chicago Cubs' lineup following an oblique injury, Miguel Amaya suffered a gruesome-looking injury in his first game back with the Cubs on Wednesday night. Running to first base, Amaya just beat out an infield single on a slow dribbler to shortstop when his left foot landed forcefully on the base, causing his leg to buckle and sending Amaya flying down the first base line. Following the injury, Amaya was carted off the field in Toronto with a towel over his face. The emotions shown by Amaya as he was carted off indicated he knew already he would miss more time in a season that has been marred by injuries. After the game, Cubs manager Craig Counsell confirmed Amaya would be going back on the injured list with what was diagnosed as a left ankle sprain. X-rays, however, were negative. The 26-year-old Amaya had just told reporters after being activated from the 60-day injured list that he was thankful he was healthy. Just three at-bats later, Amaya was once again injured. Amaya's three at-bats against the Blue Jays on Wednesday represented his first game action since May 24, when he recorded just two at-bats against the Cincinnati Reds before leaving the game with an oblique injury. In just 96 at-bats this season, Amaya is slashing .281/.314/.500 with four home runs and 25 RBI. Amaya's injury is another blow for the Cubs, who have seen their lead in the National League Central evaporate as the Milwaukee Brewers have now won 12 consecutive games and are 20-4 since the All-Star break. As has been the case in Amaya's absence, Carson Kelly and Reese McGuire will continue to be the dominant presences behind the plate for the Cubs. Joining with Amaya, the duo has helped the Cubs record a 2.8 Wins Above Average (WAA) at catcher, the highest mark of any MLB team. After Amaya's injury, the Cubs would go on to post a 4-1 win over the Blue Jays.
On Wednesday, the Cleveland Browns learned that rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders was dealing with an oblique injury that could sideline him for Saturday's game at the Philadelphia Eagles. However, it appears Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski could keep Sanders out of action through Cleveland's preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 23. "He felt it early, I think, warming up, and then felt it throughout [individual drills] and we took a look at it," Stefanski told reporters on Thursday while speaking about what Sanders experienced on Wednesday, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "If it’s a right guard, you can play through that. When it’s a quarterback, you kind of need that muscle to throw. So unfortunately, we’re going to put him down for a little bit here. We will treat it day to day and see how he responds." Stefanski said the Browns want "to be really careful" with the Sanders injury because quarterbacks "torque and twist their body" on pass plays. Despite performing well in his preseason debut last Friday, Sanders, the 2025 fifth-round draft pick, remained fourth on Cleveland's unofficial depth chart before his setback. Kenny Pickett is still attempting to recover from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the Browns' preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8, so veteran Joe Flacco is on track to start Cleveland's Week 1 matchup versus the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. Meanwhile, 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel will start against the Eagles this Saturday if it's determined his hamstring is healthy. Like Pickett, Gabriel spent the Carolina game as a spectator. "Injuries stink for all these guys," Stefanski added. "They don’t want to miss a rep for any reason. But, there’s a way to continue to prepare, continue to get better, even when you’re not getting those reps up because of injuries." Sanders seemed to have a shot at earning the QB2 gig after he completed 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in Cleveland's 30-10 victory over Carolina. He could now enter September as Cleveland's QB4 if Browns general manager Andrew Berry is serious about carrying four quarterbacks on the active roster for the Cincinnati game.
Oregon wide receiver Jurrion Dickey has struggled to live up to expectations in his first two seasons with the Ducks, and he is now in a terrible position heading into 2025 as well. Dickey has been suspended indefinitely by Oregon, head coach Dan Lanning announced on Tuesday. Lanning also suggested that Dickey may not play for the Ducks again. "We have two team rules; that’s respectful, be on time,” Lanning said, via James Crepea of The Oregonian. “There’s some pieces of that where I felt like he needed a break from us and we needed a break from that so we could focus on what’s in front of us right now. "Wishing him nothing but the best, as far as success and want to see him get back to where he can be a contributor somewhere; that might be here that might be somewhere else.” Dickey was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the top wide receivers in the country when he came out of Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California, in 2023. He suffered an injury in his senior year in high school and redshirted as a freshman at Oregon. Dickey has two catches for 14 years during his time with the Ducks. Oregon went 13-1 in Lanning's third season with the program last season. The Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
For Minnesota Vikings fans, the wait to see JJ McCarthy in live action must have felt like an eternity. After missing his entire rookie year with a meniscus injury, the 2024 10th overall pick finally took the field for the Vikings in Saturday’s preseason matchup against the Houston Texans. And the return was as emotional as it was promising. JJ McCarthy, who admitted he had “a little tear drop” during the national anthem, led a composed 13-play opening drive that ended with points on the board. He went 4-of-7 for 30 yards and added an 8-yard rush. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell praised the 22-year-old for his “composure and poise,” and his ability to run the show as the staff had hoped. But while JJ McCarthy’s debut was brief, the expectations for him were not. With Sam Darnold out of the picture and O’Connell committing fully to the Michigan alum as QB1, the pressure to deliver is immense. It’s one thing to look steady in August and another to win games when the NFC North and playoff hopes are on the line. McCarthy’s much-anticipated debut took center stage on the latest episode of Dudes on Dudes. Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman pulled out their ‘crystal ball’ to predict whether the Vikings would win more than 8 games this season. Gronk was full of optimism by praising O’Connell’s leadership and the roster’s talent. Edelman, however, hesitated. “It’s one of those ones where… they have a rookie quarterback that we have no clue how he’s going to do,” Edelman said, noting that McCarthy didn’t throw much in college and will start the season without Jordan Addison, who’s suspended for the first three games. “We’re just going to assume that the kid’s going to come in and win a lot of games like that? This is really his rookie year,” he added. Gronkowski, however, called it a “rookie plus” year, likening JJ McCarthy’s situation to NBA star Ben Simmons, who sat out his first year before becoming Rookie of the Year. That’s when the former Patriots WR jumped in with a warning: “But I hope he doesn’t become Ben Simmons.” Why did Edelman show caution? While Simmons entered the league with high expectations and early accolades, his career trajectory stalled, marred by injuries and lost confidence, and he didn’t produce as much as he should have. In Julian’s view, the Vikings can’t afford their franchise QB’s development to follow a similar arc. For now, JJ McCarthy has shown early signs of the maturity and skill set Minnesota hoped for when they drafted him. But as Edelman’s comments underline, one promising preseason drive is only the beginning; sustaining that composure over a full NFL campaign will be the real test. Safe to say, a lot of eyes will be on the young QB this year!
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