NEW YORK -- It was the third inning on Wednesday, and Aaron Judge was being cheered once again as he rounded the bases in what would soon be his 38th career multi-homer performance. Standing in the dugout, Nestor Cortes heard teammate Marcus Stroman remark: “Oh man, this guy’s incredible.”

Cortes had the good fortune to be Judge’s teammate two years ago, when the whole city seemed to tune in for these nightly displays of greatness. The hurler replied: “I watched this in 2022, all year. It felt like every time he was up, it was either a homer or a walk. And that’s exactly what’s happening now.”

On a night when Juan Soto drove in five runs, Judge also shined brightly, belting his Major League-leading 46th and 47th home runs. The Yankees thumped the Guardians, 8-1, as the American League’s MVP front-runner now sits on pace to reach 60 homers for the second time in his career.

“Until I take the jersey off my back, I want to try to get better every single year and do whatever I can to help the Yankees win a World Series,” Judge said. “That’s why I’m here. I try to never be satisfied. This game’s given me a lot, and I’ve got to try to give my all to the game.”

The Bombers reclaimed first place in the AL East, a half-game ahead of the Orioles, behind the power display and Cortes’ sharp effort.

Supported almost instantly by Soto’s career-high 36th homer, Cortes became the first Yankee since Ron Guidry (1977) to toss consecutive scoreless starts of at least seven innings without allowing a walk. To that, Cortes said: “Good company.”

Judge has frequently remarked that he has the best seat in the house, provided an opportunity to watch Soto ply his trade from the on-deck circle. If that’s true, then Soto frequently has an equally enviable vantage point to watch Judge at the dish -- from the basepaths.

Soto danced near first base after a one-out walk in the third inning, seeing Judge promptly deposit a hanging Joey Cantillo curveball into the right-field seats. It marked the 11th time this season that Soto and Judge have homered in the same game; a reliable formula, as the Yanks have won nine of those games.

“Two guys that are great, back to back,” manager Aaron Boone said. “They obviously root for one another. I think they really appreciate each other; one right-handed, one left-handed. They are different in how they do it, and I think they … like doing what they did tonight.”

Only two other Yankees duos have hit at least 36 homers through the team’s first 127 games of a season: Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig (1927, ’30, ’31) and Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris (1961). Good company, indeed.

“His power; he’s just incredible,” Soto said. “And the consistency that he has, I think that’s one of the things I admire most. It doesn’t matter if the game is 10 runs up or 10 runs down. He’s going to take a great at-bat and try to do damage to the other team.”

Judge wasn’t done. After Soto blew the game open in the fourth with an excuse-me, bases-clearing double, Judge hammered an Eli Morgan fastball into the right-field seats in the seventh; the righty immediately dropped to a knee on the mound, recognizing that the ball was about to be a souvenir.

It was the fourth multi-homer game of the season for Judge, who had 49 home runs through the Yankees’ first 127 games in 2022 when he hit 62 homers to eclipse Roger Maris’ single-season AL record. Judge has hit five homers in his last six games, six in his previous nine and 15 in his last 32.

“He just keeps getting a little bit better all the time, and I think that’s what greatness is,” Boone said. “You’re never satisfied with who you are. There’s adjustments to be made, improving on the margins. Since he’s been in the league, he’s pretty much been great, but the way he controls the strike zone now is to another level.”

There is a case to be made that Judge’s 2024 may be more impressive than ’22, when he received 28 of 30 first-place votes in being honored as the AL’s MVP.

Having long since shrugged off a slow April, Judge paces the Majors in homers, RBIs (117), on-base percentage (.465), slugging (.722), extra-base hits (78) and total bases (322), while ranking second in average (.334) and walks (103).

“His season could end right now and it would be a really good, special year for him,” Cortes said. “So with a month and 10 days left, whatever it is, it’s going to be fun to watch.”