Judge ties club mark with 33rd HR before All-Star break

BALTIMORE -- Aaron Judge turned the power back on, blasting his Major League-leading 33rd home run in the third inning of the Yankees’ 4-1 win over the Orioles on Friday evening at Camden Yards.

Judge’s solo blast off Baltimore starter Cade Povich marked his second time hitting 33 home runs prior to an All-Star break, matching his performance from 2022. Roger Maris (33 in 1961) is the only other Yankee to achieve the feat.

The Yankees’ captain had been in a slide coming into Friday’s showdown between the American League East’s top clubs, collecting four hits in 31 at-bats over New York’s previous eight games, without an extra-base hit or RBI.

But Judge snapped that by connecting with a 77.5 mph curveball, sending it a Statcast-calculated 397 feet over the left-field wall. The blast came off Judge’s bat at 107.4 mph, marking Judge’s 23rd career home run at Camden Yards.

Judge is one of five Yankees (10th time) to hit at least 33 homers through the club’s first 96 games of a season, joining Babe Ruth (40 in 1928, 38 in ‘21, 36 in ‘30, 35 in ‘20 and 33 in ‘27), Mickey Mantle (38 in ‘61), Maris (38 in ‘61), Tino Martinez (33 in ‘97) and Judge (36 in 2022 and 33 in ‘24).

Now a six-time All-Star, Judge is set to start for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Globe Life Field.