MINNEAPOLIS (Interstat) — Aaron Judge hit a three-run home run that capped a six-run eighth inning, and the New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 8-3 on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at Target Field. The victory moved the Yankees to 87-63 and dropped Minnesota to 70-80.

Will Warren was the top star for New York. He allowed five hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, struck out six and kept the Twins off balance for most of the night. Warren entered after a strong recent stretch, having allowed one earned run over six innings in a win against Colorado on Sept. 9 and having worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings at San Diego on Sept. 4. Dean Kremer was nearly as good for Minnesota, giving up two hits and one earned run in 5 2/3 innings with five strikeouts. The game remained a pitchers’ duel until the late innings, when the Yankees broke through against the Twins bullpen.

New York got its first run on Jose Caballero’s line-drive home run to left. Caballero finished 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs. Minnesota answered in the middle innings. After Kody Clemens reached on a fielding error by third baseman Ryan McMahon, Josh Bell singled and Emmanuel Rodriguez tripled to center field, scoring Clemens and Bell. Rodriguez went 2 for 4 with two RBIs. That gave the Twins a 2-1 lead and quieted a Yankees lineup that had managed little against Kremer.

New York had a chance in the first when Ben Rice walked, but Cody Bellinger grounded into a force out and Judge grounded into a double play. The Twins also threatened in the first after Luke Keaschall walked and Brooks Lee singled, but Warren got Clemens to line out, Jeffers to fly out and Bell to strike out. The early missed chances set the tone for a game that stayed tight until the eighth.

Warren worked around more trouble in the fifth. Victor Caratini and Ryan Kreidler singled before Warren struck out Walker Jenkins and induced a double-play grounder from Keaschall. Warren left with the game still close, and the Yankees bullpen took over from there.

The Yankees changed the game in the eighth. George Lombard Jr. opened the inning with a sharp double to left, and Ryan McMahon followed with a soft single to shortstop that put runners at the corners. Austin Wells struck out, but Caballero singled to center to score Lombard Jr. and tie the game. Anthony Volpe, who entered as a pinch runner, moved into scoring position, and Ben Rice followed with a single to center that brought home Volpe and Caballero. Cody Bellinger then singled, setting the stage for Judge.

Judge drove a cutter from A.J. Minter 415 feet into the second deck in left field for his 18th home run of the season. The three-run shot scored Ben Rice and Bellinger and made it 7-2. It was Judge’s first home run since May 24, and it came after a difficult stretch in which he had been 3 for 20 with 11 strikeouts since returning from a fractured rib that caused him to miss 84 games. Judge finished 1 for 4 with the homer and three RBIs. Ben Rice also had a productive night, reaching base three times and driving in two runs.

Minnesota got one run back in the bottom of the eighth when Josh Bell homered to right field, his 20th of the season. Bell went 2 for 4 with a homer and an RBI. The Twins then put two runners on when Emmanuel Rodriguez reached on a fielding error by second baseman Anthony Volpe and Victor Caratini was hit by a pitch. Tim Hill recovered to get Ryan Kreidler to ground out, ending the threat. Hill earned the win in relief and improved to 5-2. Michael Fulmer also worked a scoreless inning with one strikeout, and John Schreiber finished with 1 1/3 hitless innings for his second save.

New York added an insurance run in the ninth when Austin Wells homered to right field, his 12th of the season. The Yankees finished with nine hits and took advantage of Minnesota’s mistakes and bullpen trouble. The Twins had seven hits and grounded into two double plays, one in the fifth and another in the ninth. Andrew Morris took the loss for Minnesota and fell to 4-8. Tommy Nance pitched 1 2/3 innings and allowed one hit and one earned run with two strikeouts. Jeff Hoffman worked a scoreless inning with one strikeout. New York’s pitchers combined for 23 strikes, 50 balls and 23 balls in play. Minnesota’s pitchers combined for 12 strikes, 52 balls and 12 balls in play.

The win clinched New York’s 61st postseason berth and its ninth in 10 seasons. Judge’s drive came a few minutes before Detroit beat Toronto, clinching a playoff spot for the Yankees. Attendance at Target Field was 24,204, and the game took 2 hours, 58 minutes. New York and Minnesota continue their series Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, before the Yankees travel to Arizona and the Twins head to Los Angeles. Minnesota had won two of three in the previous series between the teams in July.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of New York Yankees 7, Minnesota Twins 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Yankees a 61.9 percent probability to win. New York had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 11 went under the over/under line of 8.5.