MLB
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto hit home run in Yankees victory
New York’s team outfielders hit home runs in consecutive at-bats in the fifth inning against their biggest opponents this season, the Baltimore Orioles.
It was the second win in a row for the New York Yankees (58-39) to put themselves within half a game of the top of the AL East. The New York team beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 (57-38) with great performances from Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Luis Gil.
Gleyber Torres and Austin Wells were responsible for opening the scoring in the first roll. The Venezuelan infielder drove in the Yankees' first with a single that split the diamond. The Yankees catcher took advantage of the fact that Judge and Torres were in the corners to hit a three-run home run off Grayson Rodríguez's streamer.
The Orioles scored in the fourth inning with a sacrifice ground ball by Ryan Mountcastle. Baltimore’s 1B took advantage of Ryan O’Hearn being in the hot corner after a very powerful triple that Alex Verdugo could not field correctly and drove him home with a sacrifice ground ball.
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Consecutive home runs by Judge and Soto
The fifth inning arrived, and the Yankees’ lethal duo combined to hit solo home runs off Rodríguez in consecutive at-bats. Soto added the 23rd of the year with a very strong line to center field, while Judge reached 34 complete hits in the season with a hit similar to that of the Dominican.
With this home run, 'The Judge' set a franchise record for most home runs before the All-Star Game break.
Tenth victory for Luis Gil
Gil made a quality start after striking out seven of the batters he faced and negotiating a walk against five Orioles hits. With this, the Dominican pitcher achieved his tenth win of the year in 19 starts.
On Saturday, Gil’s performance was not dominating, but he effectively limited Baltimore’s scoring. According to Aaron Boone, the key reason for his success was his improved slider, which compensated for not having his best form.
The Yankees relievers managed to hang up the rings in the last three innings. Despite allowing two hits, Tim Hill was outstanding in the seventh and eighth innings. Finally, Jake Cousins closed the game thanks to a double play after a Colton Cowser grounder.