Bronx, NY—-New York Yankees finally broke through against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon thanks to a dramatic moment from Aaron Judge, who delivered a walk-off two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift New York to a 2-0 victory in the Bronx.
After enduring an unusually quiet stretch at the plate, Judge ended an 11-game RBI drought in emphatic fashion. Leading off the bottom of the ninth, Trent Grisham worked a walk against Tampa Bay reliever Kevin Kelly before Judge stepped to the plate and attacked the first pitch he saw.
Judge drove an inside sinker the opposite way into the right-center field seats for his 17th home run of the season, sending Yankee Stadium into celebration and snapping New York’s three-game losing streak.
The blast also marked Judge’s fourth career walk-off home run and his first since 2022. Entering the day in a difficult 1-for-24 slump, the Yankees captain delivered exactly the kind of signature moment New York desperately needed.
Sunday’s matchup had been dominated by pitching from the very beginning.
New York starter Ryan Weathers and Tampa Bay ace Drew Rasmussen traded scoreless innings throughout the afternoon, each turning in seven shutout frames while consistently working out of trouble. Neither offense could generate sustained momentum as the game moved quickly through a tense pitchers’ duel.
One of the game’s biggest turning points came in the top of the eighth inning when the Rays threatened to finally break through offensively.
With runners on first and second and two outs, Ryan Vilade lined a single into left field that appeared likely to score Oliver Dunn from second base. But Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger made a perfect throw to third base, cutting down Junior Caminero trying to advance and ending the inning before Dunn could cross the plate.
The defensive gem preserved the scoreless tie and set the stage for Judge’s late-game heroics.
New York reliever Tim Hill also came up big in the ninth inning, striking out Richie Palacios to strand two Tampa Bay runners and keep the game tied heading into the bottom half of the inning.
The win marked New York’s first victory in five meetings this season against its AL East rival and helped the Yankees regain momentum after winning just five of their previous 15 games.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay saw its five-game winning streak come to an end after entering the contest having won 13 of its previous 16 games.
Despite the loss, the Rays remain atop the AL East, though their division lead over the Yankees was trimmed to 4 1/2 games.
