Aaron Judge hit his first home run in nearly four months … and it highlighted a night in which the New York Yankees secured a postseason berth.
Judge, who missed three months of the 2026 season with a fractured rib, hit a three-run home run off of Minnesota Twins left-hander A.J. Minter in the eighth inning of an 8-3 win on Monday, Sept. 14. It was Judge's first round-tripper since May 24 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Judge now has 18 home runs in 65 games played this season.
Since his return to the Yankees' lineup on Sept. 8, Judge had gone 3-for-17 in five games played before clobbering a cutter from Minter into the third deck at Target Field in Minneapolis on Monday.
AARON JUDGE CLOBBERS ONE OFF THE THIRD DECK! pic.twitter.com/elXhS6uLdd
— MLB (@MLB) September 15, 2026
The Yankees
entered Monday needing a win over the Twins or loss by the Toronto Blue Jays against the Detroit Tigers to clinch at least a wild card berth. Detroit closed out a 6-5 win moments before the Yankees defeated the Twins, making the Yankees the second American League team to secure a playoff spot.
Why Aaron Judge missed 84 games
Judge said the injury traced back to a diving play in Houston in late April. He played through rib and shoulder discomfort for about a month before the team finally shut him down May 31. He was hitting .248 through 59 games at the time – a career worst – with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs.
The Yankees without Judge
In the 84 games Judge missed, the Yankees scored 4.06 runs a game and hit .227 as a team with a .681 OPS. With him in the lineup for 59 games, they averaged 5.17 runs and hit .243 with a .770 OPS. Basically, that's the difference between an average offense and one of the best lineups in the league.
Contributing: Kristie Ackert
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yankees' Aaron Judge hits first home run since return from injured list
