Aaron Judge made his return, and it seems to have ignited the Yankees.
On a rainy and chilly afternoon in the Bronx, the struggling star delivered a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, leading to a 2-0 win over Tampa Bay.
Prior to this game, the Yankees had lost three in a row, scoring just three runs during that stretch. Judge, in particular, was having a tough time, batting only 1-for-24.
Things turned around when Trent Grisham walked in the ninth and was substituted by pinch runner Max Schumann.
Judge ultimately changed the game with a powerful shot to the opposite field, narrowing the gap in the American League East standings between the Yankees and Rays to four and a half games.
Ryan Weathers delivered a stellar performance, pitching seven scoreless innings and bouncing back from a rough outing against Toronto.
He was locked in a tight matchup with Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen, who also pitched seven scoreless innings, having previously struggled against the Yankees.
Weathers hit Nick Fortes with a one-out double in the second, and Tampa Bay threatened again in the third with runners on the corners. But Weathers held strong, forcing Junior Caminero into a double play to end the inning.
After seven solid innings, Weathers gave way to Fernando Cruz in the eighth.
Cruz started off by allowing a double to Yandy Diaz, then Jonathan Aranda hit a liner to right-center, but Judge made an impressive diving catch to prevent further damage.
An intentional walk to Caminero led to Ryan Bilade’s single, putting pressure on the Yankees. Pinch runner Oliver Dunn nearly scored but was thrown out at third, leaving the game still scoreless.
In the ninth, Tim Hill walked Fortes, while Taylor Walls’ bunt forced Paul Goldschmidt to move to second. Cedric Mullins kept the inning alive with a single, but then Richie Palacios struck out.
Finally, the Yankees clinched the win in the bottom of the ninth, marking just their fifth win in 15 games.
“It’s been a challenging couple of weeks, but we believe we’re turning a corner as a team,” Aaron Boone mentioned prior to the game.
The team’s recent drop in performance has largely been attributed to an offense that has ranked low in scoring since early May.
Boone acknowledged the struggles, saying, “We’ve had some tough games, and while we played well in parts, we also faced some hard losses.” This stretch included a brief winning streak against the Brewers but culminated in a disappointing series against the Mets.
Looking ahead, the Yankees will travel to Kansas City for three games, followed by three more against the Athletics in Sacramento.
“We’ve had our ups and downs offensively throughout this period,” Boone noted. “While we’ve had frustrating losses, we’ve also been close to winning more. Overall, we need to strive for better consistency. I feel optimistic about our mindset, but we must keep pushing to win.”
