It was on Saturday that Aaron Judge and Juan Soto debuted their new handshake, going over the movements of their home-run celebration within the clubhouse walls. The Yankees’ captain nodded at his teammate and said; “We’re going to do this a couple of times today.”
The teammates kept their promise, with Judge producing more long ball history to help New York set their first series victory in a month. Behind his Major League-leading 34th homer, the Yankees entered a virtual tie with the Baltimore Orioles on top of the American League East with a 6-1 win at Camden Yards.
“Just having a little bit of fun,” Judge said. “When he’s locked in like that and seeing so many good pitches, it’s fun to hit behind him and see what he does. It’s just impressive at-bat after at-bat.”
New York had not won a series since June 10-13 at Kansas City, scoring 0-7-1 over that span. Saturday was their first time winning successive games since their series with the Royals.
Soto and Judge placed the Bombers up big, clearing the center-field wall with back-to-back fifth-inning home runs off right-hander Grayson Rodriguez. Soto lined a changeup a Statcast-projected 426 feet, and Judge unloaded on a trademark 431-foot blast “to the moon that just keeps on going,” as manager Aaron Boone described it.
“It’s always great to see that,” Soto said. “We just literally were talking about it this morning. … We were talking about our handshake. We were trying to do it a couple of times today.”
Judge ran around the bases as the first Yankee to hit 34 home runs before an All-Star break. Roger Maris (33 in 1961) and Judge (33 in 2022) previously shared the club record for homers before the break.
Judge is on track for 57 homers. Boone said that 34 homers at the break would have been “nice, but very believable.” While catcher Austin Wells, who hit a three-run homer in the first inning Saturday, claimed he predicted Judge reaching the break with exactly 34 homers and 85 RBIs.
“That was my guess for what he would have, the last time we were here [in late April],” Wells said. “That is unbelievable, really. Getting to be in the dugout and watching him do that, I can’t put it into words. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Judge’s 34 homers are tied for seventh most in Major League history before an All-Star break, trailing Barry Bonds (39 in 2001), Chris Davis (37in 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.
Showcasing one of his favorite hitting backdrops, Camden Yards has always been a friendly environment for Judge, who has hardly been restricted by the Yankees’ decision to move the left-field fence back several years ago. They did this partly, to neutralize dangerous right-handed hitters like him.
Saturday’s home run was Judge’s 42nd against Baltimore, the most he has hit against any opponent. Aaron also hit 24 home runs in 55 matches at Camden Yards, including 10 in his last 17 matches (since May 17, 2022). It marked the second time this campaign that the Yankees have hit consecutive home runs; Soto and Judge also collaborated for successive blasts on May 34 at San Diego.
“We needed this to get back on track,” Soto said.
New York delivered four first-inning runs to support right-hander Luis Gil, who picked up his team-leading 10th victory with six innings of one-run ball.
“I’m very happy about the way the season has gone,” Gil said through an interpreter. “To be here, healthy and get the opportunity to go out there and compete, I’m extremely happy.”
Gil held Baltimore to five hits and one walk in a seven-strikeout performance. He showed his improved slider, a difference-maker since he tweaked his grip to gain movement while maintaining velocity. Wells said the offering is now a third plus pitch for Gil.
“He’s been a huge factor for us,” Judge said. “Especially early on when we didn’t have our ace Gerrit Cole with us, having a guy like him step up and make the team out of camp was impressive. That’s what you love to see. You’ve got to have guys like that step up if you want to have a deep run into the season.”
