Yankees win series in Baltimore, Aaron Judge hits home run No. 34
BALTIMORE – Aaron Judge hoped the bitterness wouldn’t last until Saturday, a day after the benches were cleared at Camden Yards.
“We got hit with throws from some of their guys and they got us,” Judge said late Friday night after things “boiled over” between the Yankees and Orioles.
“Two good ball clubs, those are two important games” before the All-Star break. “I don’t think that will last until Saturday.”
On a sweltering afternoon in the Inner Harbor, baseball resumed, and Judge made history with his 34th home run, helping the Yankees to their first series win in a month.
With a four-run lead in the first inning, “the Yankees came out and made a statement,” Judge said after they virtually tied Baltimore at the top of the AL East with a 6-1 victory.
And by extending his MLB home run lead, Judge became the first Yankee to hit 34 home runs before the All-Star break, surpassing Roger Maris’ 33 in 1961.
Of course, Judge broke Maris’ AL single-season record with 62 home runs in 2022, with 65 regular-season games still to go.
“It’s not about personal statistics,” Judge said. “It’s about winning.”
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto hit back-to-back in Baltimore
Austin Wells’ three-run home run was the highlight of this early attack against Baltimore starter Grayson Rodriguez.
“That was the biggest thing, especially after everything that happened (Friday) night,” said Judge, who hit two home runs in a row with Juan Soto.
Soto and Judge’s fifth-inning solo hits – both over 400 feet to center – combined to travel an estimated 857 feet.
Before the game, Soto went over a new handshake routine after a home run with Judge and “we tried to do it a couple of times today,” Soto said.
Putting the Friday night scuffle behind us
The incident during the bench clearance in the ninth inning on Friday night was sparked by Clay Holmes’ errant 97-mile-per-hour sinker that hit Baltimore’s Heston Kjerstad in the helmet.
Kjerstad was removed from the Orioles’ original lineup for Saturday and placed on the 7-day concussion protocol list.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was particularly upset Friday night because he was concerned about Kjerstad and his comments that players and Yankees dugout staff had waved and yelled at him.
Before Saturday’s game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he had spoken to Hyde about the incident but did not go into detail.
Nothing suspicious happened during Saturday’s game, but the O’s (57-38) have now lost five games in a row, while the Yankees (58-39) ended a brutal streak – they have a record of 0-7-1 in their last eight series.
The last time the Yankees won a series was June 10-13 against the Royals at Yankee Stadium.
From then on, Boone’s club lost two series to the Red Sox and one each to the Orioles, Braves, Mets, Reds and Rays, with a tie against the Blue Jays.
“It’s always great to win a series,” said Soto, whose 426-foot liner over the center field wall preceded Judge’s massive 431-footer in the fifth inning. “We needed him badly to come back.”
Austin Wells’ prediction for Aaron Judge
Now equipped with an improved slider to match his electrifying fastball and mature changeup, Luis Gil made his second strong start after four failures, limiting the O’s to one run in six innings.
And the Yankees’ recently improving bullpen received two scoreless innings from Tim Hill and one from Jake Cousins.
While the Orioles have only scored two runs in their last four games, the Yankees are slowly starting to find their strength again.
Wells said he predicted to a teammate a few weeks ago that Judge would arrive at the All-Star break with 34 home runs and 85 RBI.
That’s exactly where Judge is right now, and there’s one game left before Judge, Soto and Holmes travel to Texas for the All-Star Game on Tuesday.
“It’s unbelievable,” Wells said of Judge’s stats. “I can’t put into words what it’s like to sit in the dugout and watch him do that.”
Of course, Judge Soto gave an assist.
“It’s fun to hit behind him and see what he does,” Judge said, mentioning a sore right hand that continues to bother Soto, who also hit a double on Saturday (as did Judge).
“To still go out there and hit the ball the way (Soto) does,” with a sore hand, “he’s one of a kind.”
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