The captain snapped an 11-game RBI drought with a dramatic ninth-inning blast, silencing Tampa Bay’s win streak and reigniting New York’s pursuit of the AL East crown.
A five-game win streak and 11-game scoring drought all came to an end with one at-bat as the New York Yankees toppled the Tampa Bay Rays in the Big Apple 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.
The win for the Yankees ends their three-game losing streak, ends the Rays' five-game winning run and the final hit, a walk-off two-run homer by Aaron Judge also ended his 11-game RBI drought.
For more on the game and what's next for the Rays now that their red-hot streak has come to an end, Rays Roundtable writer Christian Rauh has a recap of the game here:
After walking Trent Grisham to start the bottom of the ninth tied 0-0, Rays reliever Kevin Kelly threw a 92 mph sinker that Judge blasted 363 feet to right-center, sending the Yankees home with a big win.
Prior to the matchup, the Yankees had dropped the last four matchups against Tampa. With the stellar performance of Rays right-handed pitcher Drew Rasmussen, it looked like the Yankees were in line for another disappointing loss. But New York's left-handed pitcher Ryan Weathers kept the Bronx Bombers in the game with an impressive 7-inning shutout of his own.
It was Yankees arm Tim Hill who earned the win, coming into the game during the ninth inning and shutting out Tampa hitters at the top of the frame.
Hill's pitching set up what would be Judge's first home run since May 10 and, almost unbelievably, his first walk-off home run since the 2022 season.
The game puts the Yankees just 4.5 games behind the Rays in the AL East race.
