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.”

A Dominican court sentenced former Major League Baseball outfielder Raúl Mondesi to six years and nine months in Jail and fined $507,000 for corruption during his time as mayor of the city of San Cristobal. Prosecutors accused Mondesi of embezzling $5 million when he was mayor between 2010 and 2016. The sentence was passed after a deal with the prosecutors’ office. Mondesi, whose son Adalberto Mondesi was a big league shortstop, spent six years under house arrest, meaning his sentence has already been completed. While he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Raúl Mondesi won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1994 and competed in the All-Star Game one year later. He was in the MLB for 13 seasons and won two Gold Gloves. Mondesi’s MLB career also includes a session with the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta Braves. He concluded his career with an average of .273, 217 home runs and 860 RBIs. After he left Major League Baseball, Mondesi began his political career in San Cristobal, where he was a lawmaker between 2006 and 2010. Following his service as mayor, he bid for the senate but lost. Dominican prosecutors levelled several charges against Raúl, such as falsification of documents, criminal association, and malfeasance.

Chris Patrick was named senior vice president and general manager of the Washington Capitals on Monday.  Meanwhile, Brian MacLellan, who was Washington GM for the past 10 seasons, will stay on as president of hockey operations, a title he got in 2023. MacLelland will keep overseeing every area of hockey operations and Patrick will report to him. Patrick is the seventh GM in Capitals history.  He recently completed his 16th season with the team and first as associate GM. “We are thrilled to announce Chris’ promotion to general manager,” Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said. “Chris is a dedicated and hard-working executive who is fully prepared for this next step in his career. His vision, extensive experience, hockey acumen and player evaluation make him the perfect leader to drive our team forward. We are confident that he will thrive in this new role.” Patrick first joined the Capitals in 2008 in a player development and scouting role and served as a pro scout, director of player personnel, assistant GM and associate GM. As associate general manager, he monitored Washington’s analytics department, player contract negotiations, hockey operations staff, player personnel and budget and team scheduling matters. Additionally, Patrick managed the Capitals’ professional scouting staff and worked closely with the Hershey Bears, Washington’s American Hockey League affiliate, which won the Calder Cup the past two campaigns. While overseeing Hershey, Patrick played a pivotal role in developing many Washington prospects to reach NHL level, He also employed two coaches, Spencer Carbery and Todd Nelson, who have won AHL Coach of the Year awards with Hershey. Carbery was named Capitals coach on May 30, 2023. In his past positions, Patrick handled scouting drafted players at the collegiate and junior levels. “With Dick Patrick as chairman, Brian as president and Chris as general manager, we believe we have a dynamic leadership team in place to continue to guide our hockey operations department forward,” Leonsis said. “Over the past decade, Brian has excelled as the head of our hockey operations department, helping bring the Stanley Cup to Washington and maintaining our team’s consistent competitiveness. Brian’s leadership, experience, and vision for our hockey team, combined with Chris’ impressive track record and successful tenure as an executive, talent evaluator and guardian of our minor league partnerships, position our hockey operations team for a successful future.” For MacLellan, this would be his 24th season with the Capitals, including stints as GM, assistant GM, director of player personnel and as a professional scout. He became GM on May 26, 2014 as George MchPhee’s replacement.