BRONX, NY — Aaron Judge needed the big hit and he nailed it Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, a first pitch sinker from Rays reliever Kevin Kelly to right center field.
A big hit that resulted in a two-run walk-off homer in the ninth inning to secure the Yankees with a 2-0 victory.
That important hit and for Judge who broke an 11-game homerless streak, his 17th home run of 2026. Significant because Judge’s home runs come in bunches and when they do, the captain is a catalyst in the Yankees lineup. As it showed in this one, an important win for the Yankees, splitting the abbreviated three-game series with Tampa Bay (1-1).
And knocking off the American League East division leading Rays (34-16), with the best record in MLB, was just as significant. The game until that point was scoreless due to outstanding pitching with Ryan Weathers and Drew Rasmussen each tossing seven scoreless innings.
A win for the Yankees (31-22) and for Judge who snapped a 1-for-15 slide with a single in the first inning. The game winner is what Judge and the Yankees needed.
Aaron Judge’s ninth inning walk-off home run on Sunday marked his first walk-off HR in his career since July 28, 2022 and first HR since May 10th – Image Credit: Al Pereira/Latino Sports
Judge said about the walk-off home run: “Just like all the other ones. Glad we were able to do it in a win.” It was his fourth career walk-off home run in the ninth inning and sixth of his career. The home run ignited the home dugout, resulting in Judge getting the gatorade splash as the Yankees now head to Kansas City and Sacramento for six games against the Royals and Athletics, respectively.
“He’s literally one of the best hitters of all-time,” Cody Bellinger said about Judge. “It’s a big win, anytime you get a win with the guys leading the division. Our pitching did a tremendous job.”
Bellinger also had an important outfield assist that kept the scoreless tie in the eighth inning.
Bellinger later mentioned the pitching, Weathers in a duel with Rasmussen and the bullpen producing with Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill who earned his first win of the season after recording a scoreless ninth inning. It was more than momentum for the Yankees, prior to Memorial Day standing four and a half games behind Tampa Bay in the division. Perhaps a must win because the Rays were 16-2 this month, and swept a three-game series against New York last month at Tropicana Field.
With Sunday’s 2-0 win over Tampa Bay, the Yankees stand 31-22 on the year, which is good for second in the American League and in the EL East behind the Rays (34-16) – Image Credit: Al Pereira/Latino Sports
“Just a great swing,” manager Aaron Boone said about Judge. “I feel like Friday night, the handful of bats were better.” Then, the Rays won the first of scheduled three before Saturday was postponed due to rain, which will be made up in a doubleheader on September 22nd at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees pitching staff has been superb, allowing eight runs in their last four games (ERA of 1.13) while starters have not surrendered a run in their last 17.0 innings. The scoreless tie led to Judge doing what he does best.
And in the eighth inning, it was Judge going to the ground in right field to lunge and extend for the fly ball that robbed Jonathan Aranda of a hit, an out that kept the drama of a scoreless game.
“Just trying to make a play and do what I can out there, the guys know how much of a grind this season is,” Judge said. “I know how much they were grinding all day today. A lot of great at-bats up and down that lineup. I liked what I was seeing all game long so I think a lot of guys were just really able to pull that one out.”
The Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak in an otherwise disappointing homestand, splitting four games with the Blue Jays. Yankees pitchers tossed their sixth shutout of the season as Tampa Bay’s pitching recorded six strikeouts, indicating better at-bats and more contact for the Yankees—all positives heading to Kansas City.
The Rays had that disappointing loss. The best team in baseball snapped a five-game winning streak with their third walk-off loss of the season. They were held to zero runs for the second time this season. That’s how good they are, even with a pitching battle that could have gone either way. Rasmussen completed seven innings for the first time in more than three years, with base-running mistakes playing a factor on a dismal day of weather in the Bronx.
“We did two things on the bases that really reduce your chances of winning, especially with the pitching duel we had between ‘Ras’ and Weathers,” manager Kevin Cash said. One mistake in the eighth inning with two runners on base on a Ryan Vilade single that should have resulted in an RBI.
Instead, pinch runner Oliver Dunn made a dash to home and Bellinger threw out Junior Caminero at third. The latter attempted to go from first to third instead of stopping at second, a play that was reviewed and nullified a run for Tampa Bay.
That was the aggressive base running of the Rays and making contact, a rare blunder that kept the game scoreless.
Cash said: “Just trying to do a little too much. You’re talking about an elite left fielder (Bellinger). The play’s in front of you. Ideally just hold up and let’s score the run.”
“Obviously, I feel bad because Vilade did his job,” Caminero said through an interpreter. “He hit one hard over into left field, and I just feel bad I wasn’t able to capitalize on that.”
Rasmussen, posting a 0.89 career-ERA against the Yankees, said over the last few years he has been fortunate to have success against them. Sunday was his ninth career appearance vs. the Yankees and eighth start. The 0.89 ERA is the lowest in baseball against an opponent since 1913 when earned runs became official.
Certainly a nice win for the Yankees, the Rays of course will lick their wounds from this tough loss. Then again, Aaron Judge can always be a difference maker.
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and columnist at LatinoSports.com with coverage of MLB, boxing, and MLS – X: @Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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