The New York Yankees were in the middle of their game against the Minnesota Twins on Monday night when they found out they had officially clinched a playoff berth.
With the Toronto Blue Jays losing to the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees punched their ticket once again, and they finished off the night with a victory of their own, defeating the Twins 8-3 on the back of a three-run homer in the top of the eighth by superstar Aaron Judge.
It was his first home run since returning from his lengthy IL stint with a rib injury, and in the locker room postgame, as the Yankees poured drinks on one another while celebrating the playoff berth, Judge spoke about heading to the ninth postseason of his career.
Judge Makes Strong Statement on Playoff Berth
While it was certainly hard for him to focus as catcher Austin Wells and others poured beer on him mid-interview, he made a strong statement about heading back to the playoffs and noted that he re-signed with the Yankees in 2023 for this exact reason: to win games and compete for a World Series.
“It’s a great feeling. You know, this is why I came back to New York in 2023. To get an opportunity to win a World Series every single year,” Judge said. “We got a special group here. Special guys that are fighting for each other, we’re in everybody’s corner and you know we just continue to get better so excited to get back into the postseason.
“We’re gonna celebrate tonight, but we know what’s ahead of us. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Aaron Judge is headed back to the postseason for the 9th time. 🔥@M_Marakovits chatted with the Captain in the clubhouse after the win. pic.twitter.com/RSn3MpB2Va
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 15, 2026
Looking at the Yankees
New York improved to 87-63 on Monday night, and they’re still chasing the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East and for the No. 1 overall seed in the American League.
They trail the Rays by 3.5 games at the moment, but they’ll play them in a massive four-game series at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx next week, which will at the very least give them one last fighting chance to overtake them.
Aaron Judge Makes Strong Statement After New York Yankees Clinch Playoff Berth