It did not take long. Aaron Judge stepped into the batter's box for his first-ever World Baseball Classic at-bat Friday night. Two pitches later, the ball was gone.
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The New York Yankees slugger crushed a towering two-run homer for United States national baseball team in the first inning against Brazil, giving fans at Minute Maid Park an instant highlight.
The moment started simply enough. Bobby Witt Jr. opened the game with a single. Bryce Harper followed with a strikeout. Then Judge stepped in against Brazil starter Bo Takahashi.
The count quickly moved to 3-0. Takahashi tried to sneak an 80 mph sweeper across the plate. Judge did what Judge does.
The Yankees captain launched the pitch 405 feet into the seats, sending the Houston crowd into a roar and giving Team USA an early lead.
Welcome to the World Baseball Classic.
The home run served as Judge's loud introduction to international baseball and reminded everyone why he is one of the most feared hitters in the sport. If that was the opening act, the rest of the tournament could get very interesting for Team USA.
"The towering shot marked a memorable first moment for Judge on baseball's international stage — and a loud introduction for his WBC debut," ESPN wrote.
