Aaron Judge stops 11-game homerless drought, 2-run walk-off homer in 9th lifts Yankees over Rays 2-0

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge ended a career-worst 11-game streak with no RBIs by hitting a game-ending, two-run homer off Kevin Kelly in the ninth inning that lifted the New York Yankees over the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 Sunday for their first win in five games this year against their AL East rival.

After New York’s Ryan Weathers and Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen each pitched seven shutout innings, Yankees left fielder Cody Bellinger made a key defensive play with two outs in the eighth. With Oliver Dunn at second and Junior Caminero at first, Ryan Vilade singled to left and Bellinger threw out Caminero at third as Ryan McMahon applied the tag before Dunn crossed the plate.

Kelly (3-2) walked Trent Grisham, starting the ninth and Judge hit a first-pitch sinker on the inside corner to the opposite field. The ball landed in the second row of the right-center field seats for his 17th homer, his first since May 10.

Judge, who entered in a 1-for-24 slide, hit his fourth walk-off homer, his first since 2022, ending the Yankees’ fastest game of the season after 2 hours, 12 minutes. It was his eighth walk-off hit.

Judge’s drive would have been a home run in just three major league ballparks: Citizens Bank Park and Great American Ball Park are the others.

New York ended a three-game losing streak with its fifth win in 15 games and stopped a five-game winning streak by Tampa Bay, which lost for just the fourth time in 17 games. The Rays’ AL East lead was cut to 4 1/2 games over the Yankees.

Tim Hill (1-2) struck out Richie Palacios to strand two runners in the ninth.

Up Next

Rays: LHP Shane McClanahan (5-2, 2.82 ERA) opens a three-game series Monday at Baltimore.

Yankees: RHP Will Warren (6-1, 3.61) opens a three-game series Monday at Kansas City, which starts RHP Michael Wacha (4-2, 2.70).

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