Perfect timing! Judge snaps homerless streak with walk-off blast vs. Rays
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NEW YORK – Aaron Judge snapped his 11-game homerless streak at the perfect time, connecting for the fourth walk-off blast of his career and lifting the Yankees to a 2-0 win over the Rays on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Judge cracked a two-run homer off Kevin Kelly after the American League East rivals traded zeros through the first eight innings, with Ryan Weathers and Drew Rasmussen each hurling seven sharp frames.
It was the Yankees’ third walk-off win of the season and the eighth walk-off hit of Judge’s career, coming after he entered Sunday in a 4-for-35 slide.
Cody Bellinger’s third outfield assist of the year preserved the scoreless tie in the eighth. He came up firing on Ryan Vilade’s eighth-inning single to left field, a one-hop throw to third base that cut down Junior Caminero.
Third baseman Ryan McMahon slapped a tag on the sliding Caminero before pinch-runner Oliver Dunn reached home plate, as confirmed by replay. Judge also made a diving catch in the eighth that robbed Jonathan Aranda of a hit.
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Weathers had characterized his most recent start as a “mixed bag of results,” which speaks to how well he has pitched overall in his first season with the Yankees. That five-run outing against the Blue Jays represented his roughest of the year, and on Sunday, the left-hander returned to form.
For the fifth time this season, the Yankees mustered no run support behind Weathers, who allowed four hits and three walks, striking out four.
Rasmussen extended his track record of success against New York. In eight career starts against the Yankees, Rasmussen has an 0.93 ERA (five earned runs in 48 1/3 innings), with 54 strikeouts and only 10 walks in those outings – including an April 12 win over the Yanks at Tropicana Field.