It didn’t seem possible for it to get hotter on the field in Yankee Stadium on Saturday, with the first pitch coming at 1:09 p.m. when it was 94 degrees outside. But for the Rockies, it was stifling by the end of the second inning, when the Yankees had already posted six unanswered runs.

“To be able to run out on a big league field today on a hot day,” manager Aaron Boone said following the 11-5 win over the Rockies, “when I think it was a challenge for everyone, pitchers, hitters, it was important.”

From the Yankees’ opening run, when Gleyber Torres singled to left field to bring in Didi Gregorious and advanced to second on a throwing error by Rockies pitcher Antonio Senzatela, the Rockies were sweating. Even Yankees catcher Austin Romine took advantage of the lax Rockies, stealing second in the second inning for his first stolen base of the season and fourth of his career.

“It was fine when we were walking on the grass, but as soon as you got to the plate, it was like a cone of heat,” Romine said. “It was awful. It was a struggle out there, it was really hot. Probably one of the more hot games I’ve ever caught.”

By the end of the game, it was 97 and the heat index was listed at a whopping 108.

Boone made the executive decision in the sixth to remove Aaron Judge from the lineup when the Yankees went up 9-0. The Rockies promptly put up all five of their runs right after the change, but Boone stood by his call.

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“Aaron is OK, just chose to get him out of there. Playing the doubleheader, day game after the night game and this heat,” Boone said. “With the lead, I just felt like it was a good thing to do.”

Masahiro Tanaka — who improved to 7-5 after allowing seven hits, five earned runs and registering three strikeouts through six innings — was reminded of the notorious heat he used to play through in Tokyo. He said, through an interpreter, that in hot days like Saturday the key is maintaining focus on the mound.

In anticipation for the weekend’s heat wave, the Yankees announced Friday that hydration stations would be placed at every level of the stadium, including three “cooling stations” as well. The 41,499 fans in attendance Saturday were granted permission to bring their own water bottles.