This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MILWAUKEE -- It represented the final blow in a lopsided victory, but this Anthony Rizzo home run meant much more.

As he rounded the bases with his 300th career homer in Sunday’s 15-5 win over the Brewers, the Yankees first baseman said he had a chance to think about the highs and lows of this memorable journey.

“It’s amazing, it’s awesome,” Rizzo said. “Milestones like this, you reflect back and take time to just appreciate how hard it is and how much fun it has been along the way. It’s a great feeling.”

With his two-run homer in the eighth inning off Brewers right-hander Janson Junk, Rizzo became the 12th active player to reach 300 career home runs, joining a club that includes teammate Giancarlo Stanton (408).

Others in the club are: Mike Trout (378), Joey Votto (356), Paul Goldschmidt (342), Nolan Arenado (326), Freddie Freeman (322), Manny Machado (317), J.D. Martinez (315), Bryce Harper (312), Carlos Santana (304) and Andrew McCutchen (302).

“It’s nothing to sneeze at, 300 homers,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s something to be proud of. A lot of people are fortunate enough to put on a big league uniform and a very small percentage do it at the level Rizz has done it in his career. 300 is a pretty special milestone in what’s been an awesome career.”

It has been less than a week since Rizzo ended a lengthy power outage by homering on April 23 against the Athletics, marking just his second of the season. Rizzo followed with a long ball the next day and another on Saturday at Milwaukee, now on an 11-for-24 (.458) hot streak.

“I just think it’s being in a good position to hit,” Rizzo said. “That’s what I always emphasize for myself, just finding that good position and then staying there to be consistent with it. For me, that’s big.”

Yankees captain Aaron Judge said that Rizzo’s impact on the team goes far beyond what he does on the field.

“I watched him from afar for so many years,” Judge said. “To get him here in pinstripes and watch the way he works, how he controls the room and how he keeps guys loose on and off the field, and just competes every single day. To be part of that list and counting is pretty special.”

Marcus Stroman said Rizzo’s achievement is “historic and something he should be extremely proud of.”

“He’s definitely an incredibly hard AB, facing him,” the right-hander said. “You feel like he’s all over everything, crowds the plate, takes away the inner half. He’s just a great hitter and has a great approach. He’s been doing it for so long, so congrats to Rizzo. It’s great to be a part of it and be here to witness it.”

Now comes a good test for the Yankees (19-10), who have arrived in Baltimore for a four-game showdown against the Orioles (17-10) for first place in the American League East. Rizzo is confident that his squad is up to the challenge.

“We like who we have in here,” Rizzo said. “We have a lot of respect for them with what they do and [Brandon] Hyde managing them. It’s a great team and we have a lot of respect. It’ll be a good series. This division will be tough until the end of the year. We’ve just got to play good baseball.”