The ball exploded off the Yankees' bats Sunday, with Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner both going yard twice and Gary Sanchez adding a solo shot against the Tigers, while Luke Voit homered during New York's other split-squad loss to the Blue Jays.
A glimpse into what the 2019 season will look like in the Bronx? Most likely. But Gardner thinks this Yankees lineup offers more firepower than the 267 homers the team slugged last season, which set a new MLB club record.
"We're going to hit more this year," Gardner predicted.
Like the two-hitter he is, Judge followed his leadoff hitter's comments with confidence.
"Oh, definitely. With this whole team healthy, we're going to crush the record that we set last year," Judge said. "We've got a good team, a lot of guys that can make a lot of solid contact, a lot of big boys who can make contact and make it go. We're a team that's primed and ready to do that."
A lineup consisting the aforementioned names, plus Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Aaron Hicks and others make it a distinct possibility the Yankees can reach 269 long balls this year.
"So far in camp, everybody's healthy, everybody's hungry and working hard," Gardner said. "Yeah, I expect us to have a better year, collectively, and not just me, or Giancarlo or [Greg] Bird or whoever. But collectively as a unit, I expect us to be a better offense and score more runs."