Yankees secure playoff berth as Aaron Judge belts first home run since return

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Sep 14, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS — Even though the results weren’t there, the New York Yankees kept saying that they liked the way Aaron Judge has looked since returning from a fractured rib on Sept. 8.

“I’ve actually been pleased,” Aaron Boone said before Monday’s series-opener against the Minnesota Twins. “Even right away, I felt like he’s looked better than I anticipated with him having not played a lot. He’s just missed a handful of pitches, but I feel like, for the most part, he’s swinging at the right pitches, taking pitches that he should, not chasing a lot. So I think it’s just a matter of that last level of fine-tuning that we know he’ll get to. But I feel like it’s been valuable having him have the number of at-bats that he’s had, seeing the number of pitches that he has, playing as regularly as he has.

“So [that’s] all hopefully moving towards getting him really dialed in.”

Sure enough, Judge looked dialed in during the eighth inning on Monday, pulling a 397-foot, three-run bomb into the second deck at Target Field. The monstrous blast was Judge’s first since coming off the injured list, and it gave the Yankees plenty of breathing room in an 8-3 win that, along with a Toronto Blue Jays loss, secured a playoff berth.

José Caballero, who had a solo homer and an RBI single, and Ben Rice, who blooped a go-ahead, two-run single, also helped the Yankees overcome a few defensive blunders. Austin Wells added a solo homer of his own in the ninth before the Bombers, looking to end a championship drought that dates back to 2009, celebrated their return to the postseason.

Prior to Judge’s home run, he had been 0 for 3 with two strikeouts on Monday. He entered the contest 3 for 17 (.176) with zero extra-base hits in his first five games since coming off the shelf. The back-to-back MVP, who did not go on a rehab assignment and only had one live batting practice session against minor leaguers before being activated, also walked once and struck out nine times over that stretch.

Judge’s timing had clearly been a bit off, but Boone maintained that results would come with more at-bats.

Boone has also said that he’s been “pleased” with the way Judge has been responding physically since returning to game action. Judge, who has said he wants to be playing every day, said much of the same on Sunday.

“I’m feeling great,” Judge said. “That’s why we’re back. I’m feeling 100%, ready to go. I’m feeling really good. We keep winning ballgames, which is the most important thing.”

Boone previously considered giving Judge the day off on Monday, as the right fielder has only missed one game since returning from an injury that sidelined him from May 31 to Sept. 8. With that in mind, Boone said that Judge could sit out Wednesday’s series finale in Minnesota, which comes before an off day, but he “pretty much” sees the slugger as full-go with the Yankees trying to leapfrog the Tampa Bay Rays for a division title with two weeks to go before the playoffs.

Tampa Bay, off on Monday, now has a 3 1/2-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East. According to FanGraphs, the pinstripers had just a 9.6% chance of winning the division at the beginning of the day.

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