Aaron Judge joins Yankees’ power party with historic homer in win over Orioles

BALTIMORE – With the New York Yankees already up 5-1 and Juan Soto fresh off his own jog around the bases, Aaron Judge shot his 34th home run of the season over the center field wall at Camden Yards.

The 112.9-mph, 431-foot solo homer immediately followed a bases-empty blast from Soto, who lined his 23rd dinger 112.6 mph and 426 feet to center. The two fifth-inning homers provided some insurance runs in a 6-1 win and marked the second time the sluggers have gone back-to-back this season.

Judge, the major league leader in home runs, also set a new Yankees record for the most longballs before the All-Star break.

Judge and Soto were not the only Bombers to homer in the victory, which secured the Yankees’ first series win since they took 3-of-4 from the Royals between June 10 and June 13.

Austin Wells started the power surge in the first inning, launching a three-run homer to Eutaw Street to conclude a nine-pitch at-bat. Like Judge and Soto, Wells’ tone-setting homer came at the expense of Orioles starter Grayson Rodriguez.

The righty allowed six earned runs over five innings, as Gleyber Torres picked up an RBI single off of Rodriguez prior to Wells’ home run. Rodriguez also totaled eight hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.

Luis Gil had a much better afternoon, stringing together his second strong start in a row following a long slump.

The righty, facing the Orioles for the third time this season, held the Birds to one run over six innings and 95 pitches. In addition, Gil tallied five hits, one walk and seven strikeouts while lowering his ERA to 3.17.

After cooking with gas all day, his final pitch clocked in at 99.5 mph. It blew by a swinging Ryan Mountcastle for a strikeout.

Mountcastle got the O’s their only run off Gil with a groundout in the fourth. That came after a Ryan O’Hearn triple.

With a much-needed series win in the books, the Yankees, 58-39, will look for a sweep over the Orioles, 57-38, on Sunday. The Yanks haven’t swept a series since taking three games from Minnesota in early June.

The Yankees will want a good night’s rest before Sunday’s game, as the Roku-streamed contest begins at 11:35 a.m. ET. It’s an early start for a baseball game, but the Yankees and Orioles will begin their All-Star break a few hours sooner than most.

Dean Kremer will start for Baltimore, while Carlos Rodón will throw for the Yankees. The lefty has been haunted by his overreliance on fastballs and poor pitch mixes early in games, but he’s looking to correct that problem in his final start of the first half.

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