The Yankees’ infield defense failed Marcus Stroman, who lasted just five innings. The Yankees’ batters failed to capitalize on a few opportunities, including loading the bases with one out in the fifth inning and getting away with nothing.

Mistakes and slumps, however, can be camouflaged by strength, especially from the best player in the game who has authored one of the greatest seasons ever.

Aaron Judge hit his 50th and 51st home runs of the season, on a day when the Yankees hit five, in an eventual 10-3 victory over the Rockies on a beautiful and raucous Sunday in the Bronx, where a crowd of 41,324 watched a college player feast on freshmen.

In yet another day in history, Judge kickstarted the Yankees by hitting his 18th home run in the first inning — tying Alex Rodriguez (set in 2001) for the major league record — and becoming the fifth player to reach 50 in a season three times. Sammy Sosa, Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire and Rodriguez were the only major league players with at least three seasons of 50 home runs. Judge has now done so in 2017, 2022 and 2024.

It wasn’t Judge but Juan Soto who got the seventh inning underway, when Judge’s Robin sent his Batman a 418-foot bomb to right-center to soften what had been a one-run lead. Jeff Criswell’s next pitch was a fastball to Judge, which sent him 371 feet to right-center for his second of the day. Three pitches later, a Giancarlo Stanton rocket made it back-to-back-to-back, making the stadium a prime location for a celebration that grew more intense as the afternoon wore on. Gleyber Torres’ three-run shot in the eighth provided another shock.

Judge is in the midst of the celebration. After 131 Yankees games, the all-time slugger is on his way to 63 homers, which would break the club and league record he set two seasons ago. Roger Maris Jr. may have to clear his September calendar.

The Yankees’ season — a solid one, to be sure — suddenly feels almost like an afterthought. The 77-54 squad kept rolling, having won or split nine of its 12 completed series and won 17 of its last 26 games overall, and remained in first place in the AL East.

But Judge’s campaign is nearly as big as the stakes of the most famous baseball team in the world. The center fielder rebounded from a rare home run-less Saturday and has hit six homers in his last six games, eight in his last 10 and nine in his last 13.

The Yankees needed almost all of them.

Against the Rockies (48-83), Aaron Boone’s group had made an error and found itself in a hole in the first inning. Two errors by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and a double play that went uncompleted — Torres’ throw to first pulled DJ LeMahieu off the bag — helped Colorado score in the first and forced Stroman to throw 31 pitches in the inning.

But then Judge went to work, jumping on an 0-2 changeup by Austin Gomber and driving the ball 440 feet to left-center, giving the Yankees a lead they would never relinquish.

Under Judge’s leadership, the Yankees’ best players came into action, with their first five batters going 8-for-19 with five home runs and three hits.

Stroman gave up three runs in five innings before Tommy Kahnle, Jake Cousins, Luke Weaver and Tim Mayza strung together four scoreless innings.