Aaron Judge picked a perfect moment to wake up, and the Yankees picked up something bigger than a win Monday night in Minneapolis.
Judge’s three-run shot in the eighth inning turned an already tense game into an 8-3 New York victory over the Twins, and it also helped lock in the Yankees’ 61st postseason berth and ninth in 10 seasons. The blast was Judge’s first home run since May 24, ending a drought that had stretched through his return last week from an 84-game absence because of a fractured rib.
Judge had gone 3 for 20 with 11 strikeouts since coming back, so the timing of this one mattered. He jumped on a cutter from A.J.
Minter and drove it 415 feet into the second deck in left field for his 18th homer of the season. A few minutes later, Detroit’s win over Toronto made the playoff clinch official.
New York improved to 87-63, has won six of seven, and moved a season-high 24 games over .500. The Yankees still trail AL East-leading Tampa Bay by 3 1/2 games.
The game was tight until the eighth, when New York blew it open with six runs. José Caballero set the tone with a go-ahead homer in the third, then later came through again with a single off Andrew Morris that tied things in the eighth. Ben Rice followed with a two-run bloop single, and after Cody Bellinger added an infield hit, Judge sent the visiting crowd into a roar with his no-doubt swing.
Minnesota had its moments, too, but not enough to stop the slide. Josh Bell homered off Tim Hill, and Emmanuel Rodriguez chipped in a two-run triple. The Twins have now dropped eight of 11 as their postseason hopes continue to fade.
Austin Wells added a homer in the ninth, and John Schreiber closed it out with 1 1/3 hitless innings for his second save.
On the mound, Dean Kremer was sharp for Minnesota in his second-longest start since being acquired from Baltimore on Aug. 1, allowing two hits and striking out five over 5 2/3 innings. Yankees starter Will Warren matched him for much of the night, scattering five hits and fanning six in 5 2/3 innings during his fourth straight strong outing - third start.
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Now that lift has been interrupted. Culpepper landed on the injured list with a hamstring injury, and the timing could hardly be worse for a Minnesota offense that has already struggled after the break and watched its record slide with it. With the stretch run tightening up, the Twins are left trying to absorb another blow from a roster that has already had too few answers at the plate. [Read more 🡒]