BALTIMORE – It was in the afternoon hours on Saturday when Aaron Judge and Juan Soto held hands, celebrating their home party within the walls of the clubhouse. The captain of the Yankees team nodded towards his partner and said: “We’re going to do this a few times today.”
The superstars followed through on that promise, and Judge made the longest streak in baseball history to help the Yankees win their first series in a month. After Judge’s 34th home run in the Major League, New York moved into a tie with the Orioles atop the American League East with a 6-1 victory at Camden Yards.
“A little fun,” said the Judge. “When he’s locked in like that and sees a lot of good pitches, it’s nice to hit behind him and see what he does. It’s a great after-bat. ”
The Yankees had not won a series since June 10-13 in Kansas City, going 0-7-1 in that span. Saturday marked the first time the team had won back-to-back games since that streak against the Royals.
Soto and Judge lifted the Bombers, clearing the center field wall with back-to-back fifth-inning homers off right-hander Grayson Rodriguez. Soto threw the changeup at a Statcast-projected 426 feet, and Judge unloaded a trademark 431-footer “to the moon,” as manager Aaron Boone explained.
“It’s always nice to see that,” Soto said. “We just talked about it this morning. … We were talking about our handshakes. We were trying to do it a few times today. ”
Judge rounded the shots as the first Yankee to hit his 34th home run before the All-Star break. Roger Maris (33 in 1961) and Judge (33 in 2022) previously shared the team mark for home games before the break.
“Hopefully, those 34 homers are a lot of success,” Judge said. “It is what it is. I’m not trying to focus on individual figures. It’s just trying to win. ”
Judge is a streak of 57 homers. Boone said 34 homers by halftime would have been “nice, but very believable,” and catcher Austin Wells — who hit a three-run homer in Saturday’s first inning – he said he predicted that the Judge would come to the break correctly. 34 homers and 85 RBIs.
“That was my idea of what he would have, the last time we were here [in late April],” Wells said. “That’s unbelievable, really. Getting in the hole and watching him do that, I can’t put it into words. I have never seen anything like this before.”
Judge’s 34 homers are tied for seventh-most in Major League history before the All-Star break, behind Barry Bonds (39 in 2001), Chris Davis (37 in 2013), Reggie Jackson (37 in 1969) , Mark McGwire (37 in 1998). ), Luis González (35 in 2001) and Ken Griffey Jr. (35 in 1998). Frank Howard also had 34 in 1969.
Boasting one of Judge’s favorite back-to-back games, Camden Yards remains a friendly place for the slugger, who was unfazed by the team’s decision to restore the fence. of left field in the last few years – a move made, in part, to undermine. dangerous right-handed batsmen like him.
Saturday’s homer was Judge’s 42nd against the Orioles, his most against any opponent. He also hit 24 home runs in 55 games at Camden Yards, including 10 of his last 17 games (through May 17, 2022). It marked the second time this season that the Yankees hit a back-to-back; Soto and Judge are also tied for a back-to-back blowout on May 24 in San Diego.
“We needed this to get back on track,” Soto said.
New York plated four runs in the first in support of Luis Gil, who picked up his 10th win with six innings of one-run ball.
“I’m very happy with the way the season went,” Gil said through a translator. “Being here, healthy and having the opportunity to compete with them, I am very happy.”
Gil held the O’s to five hits and walked one in the seven game game. He showed off his improved slider, which makes a difference since he tightened his arm to be able to move while maintaining speed. Wells said the offering is now a third of Gil’s.
“It was a big reason for us,” said the Judge. “Especially early on when we didn’t have our friend Gerrit Cole, to have a guy like him step up and get the team out of camp was great. That’s what you like to see. You have to have guys like that when you want to spend a lot of time this year.”
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