Aaron Judge sets Yankees record with 34th home run before All-Star break

BALTIMORE — Aaron Judge set another record, albeit a fairly obscure one.

No wonder he tried to shift the focus to another big win for the New York Yankees.

Judge set a franchise record Saturday with his 34th home run before the All-Star break. Roger Maris hit 33 before the break in 1961, the year he finished with a major league record of 61. Judge also hit 33 before the All-Star break in 2022 and went on to hit 62, breaking what had become an American League full-season mark held by Maris.

Judge's drive Saturday came in a 6-1 victory at Baltimore that moved the Yankees within percentage points of the Orioles atop the AL East . Judge was asked afterward what he'd have thought in spring training if told he'd have 34 homers by the break.

"Hopefully those 34 homers came in a lot of wins," Judge said. "That's what it's all about."

The Yankees (58-39) have taken the first two games of this series at Camden Yards, snapping Baltimore's streak of 22 series against AL East opponents (16-0-6) without a loss. The Orioles (57-38) will try to avoid a sweep Sunday, with the winner taking the division lead into the All-Star break.

Juan Soto and Judge hit back-to-back homers in the fifth inning, both to center field. Soto's 426-foot drive gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead, and Judge followed with a towering solo shot that went 431 feet.

Judge reached base all five times he came to the plate in Friday night's series-opening win at Baltimore. In his first three plate appearances Saturday, he had a walk, a double and a homer.

It was actually a rough start to the season for Judge, who was batting under .200 in early May.

"Things like that happen. You can't worry about that, can't worry about getting booed," Judge said. "We were winning ballgames, that's all that really mattered to me. I've got 500, 600 at-bats to figure it out. We're putting ourselves in a great position going into the All-Star break."

Judge hit 14 homers in May and 11 more in June.

The major league record for homers before the All-Star break is 39 by Barry Bonds in 2001. He went on to set the big league record with 73 that year.