Judge's 14th homer sparks Yankees over Orioles 12-1 for sweep, 14th win in 16 games

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NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge put New York ahead in the first inning with his 14th home run as part of a four-RBI night, and the Yankees routed the Baltimore Orioles 12-1 on Monday for a four-game sweep and their 14th win in 16 games.

Judge drove a hanging, full-count knuckle-curve from Shane Baz (1-3) into the Yankees bullpen in right-center for a 2-0 lead and added a two-run single in a six-run eighth off Lou Trivino, who made his Orioles debut.

Judge is tied with Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami for most homers in the big leagues. The three-time AL MVP leads the majors with six first-inning homers this year and has 91 in his career, trailing only Babe Ruth’s 126 and Mickey Mantle’s 103 among Yankees. The home run was Judge's 53rd in 124 games against the Orioles.

Cody Bellinger had three RBIs, including a two-run triple off Trivino.

AL-best New York (24-11) moved a season-high 13 games over .500, outscoring the Orioles 39-10 in the series.

Baltimore (15-20) lost its fifth straight, dropping a season-worst five games under .500. Adley Rutschman made the final out, dropping to 1 for 17 in the series.

Cam Schlittler (5-1) won his third straight start, allowing one run and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. He forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk to Colton Cowser in the sixth.

Schlittler threw 21 pitches 100 mph or faster — 15 more than his total in 21 previous big league starts.

Baz gave up six runs — five earned — in 5 2/3 innings. Weston Wilson, an infielder and outfielder, went to the mound to get the final out of the eighth.

Orioles: RHP Chris Bassitt (2-2, 5.46 ERA) starts Tuesday at Miami, which sends RHP Sandy Alcantara (3-2, 3.04) to the mound.

Yankees: RHP Elmer Rodríguez (0-1, 4.50) makes his second big league start, against Texas RHP Jacob deGrom (2-1, 2.01).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb