Aaron Judge ended a nearly four-month home run drought Monday night, launching a three-run blast during a six-run eighth inning that propelled the New York Yankees to an 8-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field and secured their spot in the postseason.
The Yankees improved to 87-63 with the victory, while Minnesota dropped to 70-80. Judge’s homer was his first since May 24 and came in his sixth game back after missing nearly three months with an injury.
New York entered the eighth inning trailing 2-1 before its offense finally broke through. Greg Lombard Jr. opened the inning with a double, and Ryan McMahon followed with a single. Anthony Volpe entered as a pinch-runner for McMahon before José Caballero lined an RBI single through the middle to bring home Lombard and tie the game.
Ben Rice then put the Yankees ahead with a single that scored Volpe and Caballero. After Cody Bellinger added another single, Judge stepped in and delivered the biggest hit of the night, sending his 18th home run of the season over the left-field wall to make it a five-run advantage.
Caballero also provided an early spark for New York. He gave the Yankees their first lead with a solo home run in the third inning, his 14th of the season, before coming through again during the eighth-inning rally.
Will Warren turned in another solid outing, allowing two unearned runs over 5.2 innings. He surrendered five hits, struck out six and walked two while throwing 92 pitches.
The Yankees continue their series against Minnesota Tuesday at 7:40 p.m., with Max Fried scheduled to face Bailey Ober.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.