MINNEAPOLIS – It took six games and 21 at-bats, but it was well worth the wait.
Aaron Judge hit his first home run since his return from the injured list in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 8-3 win over the Twins on Monday night at Target Field.
The Yankees clinched a berth in the 2026 postseason when the Blue Jays lost to the Tigers, 6-5. It’s the third straight season and the eighth time in Aaron Boone’s nine years as manager that the Yankees have reached the postseason.
Judge, who missed three months with a stress fracture in his right ribcage, blasted an A.J. Minter pitch deep into the second deck for a three-run blast that put the Yankees on top, 7-2.
Before the home run, Judge was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a double-play grounder. But he turned on a 2-2 cutter from Minter and hit a vintage Judge moonshot – 36 degrees on the launch angle and 415 feet from home plate, according to Statcast.
Going into Monday’s game, Judge was 3-for-17 with a walk and nine strikeouts since he returned from the IL on Sept. 8.