Judge halts homer drought with walk-off vs. Rays

May 24, 2026 No Comments

Yankees’ Aaron Judge ends homerless drought with walk-off vs. RaysAssociated PressMultiple AuthorsMay 24, 2026, 04:31 PM ET

NEW YORK — 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 on Sunday.

It was the Yankees’ first win in five games this year against their American League East rival.

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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 on second and Junior Caminero on first, Ryan Vilade singled to left, and Bellinger threw out Caminero at third, with Ryan McMahon applying 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 — and his first since May 10.

Judge, who entered the game in a 1-for-24 slide, hit his fourth career 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.

Aaron Judge’s game-winning, two-run shot in the ninth inning vs. the Rays was his first home run — and his first RBI — since May 10. John Jones-Imagn ImagesJudge’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 over the Yankees was cut to 4½ games.Yankees reliever Tim Hill (1-2) struck out Richie Palacios to strand two runners in the top of the ninth.