Aaron Judge homers again at Petco Park as the Yankees beat the Padres for 2nd straight game 4-1

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Aaron Judge hit another long home run at Petco Park, Marcus Stroman pitched six strong innings to keep the Yankees' pitching hot streak going and New York won its second straight against the San Diego Padres, 4-1 on Saturday night.

Judge's two-run shot off Dylan Cease (5-4) with one out in the first went 429 feet into the second deck in left-center. It was the Yankees' fifth home run this series, for a total of 2,089 feet.

Judge has homered in four straight games and has 17 this season to tie Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson and Houston's Kyle Tucker for the major league lead. Anthony Volpe was aboard on a leadoff single.

“That ball was absolutely hammered,” manager Aaron Boone said. "I thought Cease was really good for them. You felt like he was on and Judgey just drops the hammer there in the first inning to give us a lead.

“What Aaron's doing is what the greats do from time to time.”

The Yankees hit four home runs in an 8-0 win Friday night, including consecutive shots by Juan Soto — in his first game in San Diego since the Padres traded him to New York on Dec. 7 — and Judge.

“This is impressive what this lineup is doing and what this pitching staff is doing,” Judge said. “I think it all comes down to trying to make sure I do my job, getting on base for the guys behind me and when guys are on base try to drive them in, because what Volpe's been doing in the leadoff spot has been incredible. It's fun to watch.”

Asked about Judge, Stroman said it's "watching greatness, you know. Sometimes you can kind of take it for granted, to be honest. But this is something I'll be sitting with my grandkids at some point, saying I got the opportunity to play with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole, because those are going to be three of the best players, I think, to ever play this game.

"Just very thankful and grateful to be a part of this team.”

The AL East-leading Yankees have won four straight and 11 of 13.

The Padres were in danger of being shut out for the third straight home game and for the fourth time in six games overall until Fernando Tatis Jr. homered to center field with one out in the eighth off Luke Weaver. It was his ninth.

The Padres had won six of seven series coming in, but have now lost two straight home series. They were swept by the Colorado Rockies on May 13-15.

Stroman (4-2) won his fifth straight start against San Diego dating to 2019. He held the Padres to three hits in six scoreless innings, struck out five and walked one.

For the first time in franchise history, Yankees starters have thrown at least five innings and allowed two or fewer runs in 13 straight games.

“It's been fun. The other starters have been incredible. It creates this flow of energy,” Stroman said. “Each guy kind of hands it off to the next guy and we're all expecting each other to be great. We're all doing this without having the best pitcher in baseball, Cole, who we're all dying to get back.”

Until Tatis' homer, the Padres' best scoring chance came when Jake Cronenworth hit a leadoff triple to right in the fourth. Stroman got Manny Machado to fly out to left, too shallow to bring in Cronenworth. David Peralta flied out to shallow left and rookie Jackson Merrill struck out to end the threat.

Clay Holmes pitched a perfect ninth for his 15th save.

Anthony Rizzo, who began his big league career with the Padres in 2011, hit an RBI single in the fourth and Gleyber Torres followed with a sacrifice fly.

Cease allowed four runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings, struck out nine and walked none.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Yankees: Placed INF Jon Berti on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain a day after he collapsed in pain just a few steps out of the batter’s box. Selected INF Kevin Smith from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Transferred INF DJ LeMahieu to the 60-day injured list.

UP NEXT

Yankees RHP Clarke Schmidt (5-2, 2.59 ERA) and Padres RHP Joe Musgrove (3-4, 5.93 ERA) are scheduled to start the series finale on Sunday.

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

New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto, left, jokes with San Diego Padres first baseman Luis Arraez before a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease works against a New York Yankees batter during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 25, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

New York Yankees' Anthony Volpe slides into home, scoring from third base on a sacrifice fly by Aaron Judge during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, May 24, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, right, celebrates with teammate Alex Verdugo after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge runs towards first after hitting a double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge watches his two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is scheduled to sign an executive order to issue more than 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions Monday, the governor's office said.

The administration is describing the pardons as the largest state pardon to date. The governor's action regarding cases relating to use of paraphernalia make Maryland the first state to take such action, his office said.

The pardons will forgive low-level marijuana possession charges for an estimated 100,000 people, according to The Washington Post, which first reported on the order Sunday night.

Moore plans to sign the executive order Monday morning in the state Capitol in Annapolis with Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown in attendance.

Recreational cannabis was legalized in Maryland in 2023 after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2022 with 67% of the vote. Maryland decriminalized possession of personal use amounts of cannabis on Jan. 1, 2023. Now, 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational cannabis.

“The Moore-Miller Administration is committed to promoting social equity and ensuring the fair and equitable administration of justice,” the governor's office said. “Because the use and possession of cannabis is no longer illegal in the state, Marylanders should not continue to face barriers to housing, employment, or educational opportunities based on convictions for conduct that is no longer illegal.”

Brown, a Democrat, described the pardons as “certainly long overdue as a nation” and “a racial equity issue.”

“While the pardons will extend to anyone and everyone with a misdemeanor conviction for the possession of marijuana or paraphernalia, this unequivocally, without any doubt or reservation, disproportionately impacts — in a good way — Black and Brown Marylanders,” Brown told the Post.

More than 150,000 misdemeanor convictions for simple possession of cannabis will be affected by the order, which also will cover more than 18,000 misdemeanor convictions for use or possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia, according to a summary by the governor’s office.

The pardons reflect the number of convictions. Some individuals may have had more than one conviction pardoned through the process.

The pardons will not result in anyone being released from incarceration.

After Moore signs the pardon, the Maryland Judiciary will ensure each individual electronic docket is updated with an entry indicating the conviction has been pardoned by the governor, a process that should take about two weeks, the governor's office said.

The governor's order also directs the state corrections department to develop a process to indicate a pardon in an individual’s criminal record, a process expected to take about 10 months to complete.

The pardons absolve people from the guilt of a criminal offense, and individuals do not need to take any action to receive the pardon.

A pardon is different from expungement. Although the Judiciary will make a note on the record that the offense has been pardoned, it will still show on the record. Expungement is the process by which a criminal conviction is destroyed and removed completely from the public record, which requires an additional step.

FILE - Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks during a visit to SOUTH Restaurant & Jazz Club with President Joe Biden, on May 29, 2024, in Philadelphia. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is scheduled to sign an executive order to issue 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions at a news conference on Monday morning, June 17, 2024, a newspaper reported. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)