Yankees hit 3 straight homers to start game against Orioles -- a month after doing it vs. Brewers

BALTIMORE (AP) — If your starting pitcher isn't sharp, the New York Yankees can make him look very bad, very quickly.

And the Baltimore Orioles have a lot of starters who haven't been sharp lately.

The Yankees greeted Kyle Gibson in his return to the major leagues by homering on three of his first five pitches Tuesday night. When Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge and Ben Rice went deep, it marked the second time this year that New York began a game with three consecutive home runs. The Yankees are the first team to do that more than once in a season — and April hasn't even ended yet.

“Grish got it going for us and set the tone for us early on,” Judge said. “When he goes up there and ... sends one to Eutaw Street, it's pretty impressive and gets you going.”

Cody Bellinger — the game's fifth batter — also hit a solo homer, and Gibson allowed another one to Rice in the second. The Yankees ultimately went deep six times and thrashed the Orioles 15-3.

New York started the bottom of the first of its March 29 game against Milwaukee with three homers in a row. In that game, Paul Goldschmidt, Bellinger and Judge needed only three pitches to hit three homers.

“It just shows that we’ve got a lot of depth in the lineup,” Rice said. “I know Judgie was part of the first one, right? But it was three different guys this time? Or two different guys?”

It was an ugly return to the majors for the 37-year-old Gibson, who made 30 starts for the St. Louis Cardinals last season before Baltimore signed him to a $5.25 million, one-year contract in late March. He'd been working in the minors before being called up before Tuesday's game.

“He gave up four homers in the first inning. That’s kind of a telling sign,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “At that point I’m just trying to figure out how we’re going to get through the game.”

Gibson ended up allowing nine runs and 11 hits in 3 2/3 innings. The Orioles lost ace Corbin Burnes to free agency and tried to bolster their staff by signing three starting pitchers to one-year deals, all of whom were at least 35 years old. Tomoyuki Sugano has been a positive, but Charlie Morton is off to a horrendous start and Gibson provided no help in his first opportunity.

After Rice's home run made it 3-0, Gibson retired Goldschmidt on a grounder before Bellinger homered. Anthony Volpe's RBI double made it 5-0 before the top of the first was over.

Rice homered again in the second to make it 6-0.

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New York Yankees' Ben Rice reacts after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, left, celebrates with Ben Rice (22) after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

New York Yankees' Trent Grisham rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

New York Yankees' Ben Rice reacts toward the dugout after hitting a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has not spared a single Ukrainian power plant from attack since its all-out invasion, Ukraine’s new energy minister said Friday, as a recent escalation of aerial bombardments left hundreds of thousands of people without heat or light for days during the coldest winter in years.

Denys Shmyhal said Russia conducted 612 attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure objects over last year. That barrage has intensified in recent months as nighttime temperatures plunge to minus 18 degrees C (minus 0.4 F).

“Nobody in the world has ever faced such a challenge,” Shmyhal told lawmakers in a speech at Ukraine’s Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.

Russia has hammered Ukraine’s power grid, especially in winter, throughout the almost four-year war. It aims to weaken the Ukrainian will to resist in a strategy that Kyiv officials call “weaponizing winter.”

Securing from abroad new missile supplies for air defenses that can counter Russia’s power grid attacks is a difficult and exhausting process, Zelenskyy said, revealing that some of the country’s air defense systems were out of missiles and at Russia’s mercy until a new shipment arrived Friday morning.

Obtaining supplies requires intense diplomatic pressure due to minimum stockpile levels and national laws in allied countries, according to the Ukrainian leader.

“But honestly, what do those rules and laws mean when we are at war and we desperately need these missiles?” Zelenskyy said.

The grim outlook roughly halfway through the winter season coincides with uncertainty about the direction and progress of U.S.-led peace efforts.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that a Ukrainian delegation is on its way to the United States to try and finalize with Washington documents for a proposed peace settlement that relate to postwar security guarantees and economic recovery.

If American officials approve the proposals, the U.S. and Ukraine could sign the documents next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelenskyy said at a Kyiv news conference with Czech President Petr Pavel.

U.S. President Donald Trump plans to be in Davos, organizers say.

Russia would still need to be consulted on the proposals.

In Ukraine, the hardship was acute amid extended blackouts.

“This is a critical moment,” Jaime Wah, the deputy head in the Kyiv delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said Friday.

“This is the hardest winter since the escalation of the conflict: punishing cold temperatures and the lack of heating and electricity are affecting millions who are already pushed to the edge by years of violence and economic strain,” he told a briefing in Geneva.

Ukraine's power shortage is so desperate that Shmyhal urged businesses to switch off their illuminated signage and exterior decorations to save electricity.

“If you have spare energy, better give it to people,” the energy minister said. “This is the most important thing today. People will be grateful.”

Ukraine has introduced emergency measures, including temporarily easing curfew restrictions to allow people to go whenever they need to public heating centers set up by the authorities, Shmyhal said. He said hospitals, schools and other critical infrastructure remain the top priority for electricity and heat supplies.

Officials have instructed state energy companies Ukrzaliznytsia, Naftogaz and Ukroboronprom to urgently purchase imported electricity covering at least 50% of their own consumption, according to Shmyhal.

U.K. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was in Kyiv on Friday to mark the first anniversary of the “100-year partnership” between Britain and Ukraine. To coincide with the anniversary, Britain announced a further 20 million pounds ($27 million) for repairs to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

A grinding war of attrition is continuing along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line. For all its military might, Russia has managed to occupy less than 20% of Ukraine since 2014.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Emergency tents are set up in a residential neighborhood where people can warm up following Russia's regular air attacks against the country's energy objects that leave residents without power, water and heating in the dead of winter, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vladyslav Musiienko)