MLB Opening Day: Aaron Judge p...

Aaron Judge has returned and is doing Aaron Judge stuff.

The New York Yankees star recently broke the AL single-season home run mark. He began his 2023 season with a first-inning home run against San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb in a 5-0 Yankees victory on Thursday.

On a 0-1 count, Webb delivered a 93 mph sinker that crossed the center of the plate at the bottom part of the strike zone. Judge took a swipe at Yankee Stadium and blasted it 422 feet over the center-field wall.

It was the first home run of the new MLB season. On his journey back to the bench, Judge was greeted with customized festivities from his teammates, who were in midseason form. What a way to begin.

The obvious thing to do in this situation is to predict Judge's home run total based on this accomplishment. So let's be corny. Given the best-case scenario of Judge playing in all 162 games and a ballpark estimate of 4.5 at-bats per game, Judge's first-inning home run puts him on track for 769 home runs this season.

Unfortunately, Judge struck out in his second at-bat, and he ended the day 2-for-4 with the single home run, two RBIs, and two strikeouts. Nonetheless, the current AL MVP is off to a great start in the Bronx.

Both starting pitchers set strikeout records

Judge was not the only athlete to make a memorable start at Yankee Stadium in 2023. Each starting pitcher established his team's Opening Day strikeout mark on a day when scoring other than home runs was scarce.

In six innings, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole struck out 11 batters while walking only two. He took the victory. Webb outdueled Cole in six innings, striking out 12 and walking two. He was given the defeat due to four earned runs.

Gleyber Torres' two-run bomb off Webb in the third inning put the Yankees up 3-0, and the Yankees added two more safety runs in the seventh.