MINNEAPOLIS — For seven innings, the Yankees offense did little against Minnesota, while defensive mistakes complicated a night that already carried October stakes.
Then the eighth changed everything.
George Lombard Jr. opened with a double, Ryan McMahon reached, and José Caballero tied the game with a single. Anthony Volpe and Caballero followed with a double steal before Ben Rice dropped a two-run single into center. The Yankees suddenly led 4-2.
Aaron Judge supplied the crushing blow. After Cody Bellinger reached, Judge drove an A.J. Minter cutter into the left-field seats for a three-run homer, his first since May 24. Austin Wells added a solo shot in the ninth, and the Yankees finished an 8-3 win that clinched their 61st postseason berth and ninth in 10 seasons.
Official scoring credited Tim Hill with the win, Andrew Morris with the loss, and John Schreiber with his second save. Will Warren allowed two unearned runs over 5 2/3 innings. Postgame standings put the Yankees at 87-63, 3.5 games behind the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
Ben Rice finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk. Judge finally broke through after entering the game 3-for-20 with 11 strikeouts since returning from an 84-game absence caused by a fractured right rib.
The Yankees’ first run came on Caballero’s third-inning homer, but Minnesota moved ahead in the sixth after a Ryan McMahon error helped prolong the inning and Emmanuel Rodriguez tripled home two runs. The Yankees had only two hits through seven innings. Detroit’s 6-5 win over Toronto mathematically secured New York’s postseason berth during the game, but the Yankees still finished their own business with their 35th comeback victory of the season.
That backdrop mattered Monday night.
But the most unusual development came after the Yankees had taken control, when Minnesota’s television broadcast shifted from Judge’s homer to Rice’s movements at second base.
Twins booth puts Rice under a microscope
The Twins.TV broadcast replayed Rice during Judge’s at-bat and compared his body language on different pitches from Minter. Rice appeared to make a visible movement before a changeup, then did not repeat it before the cutter Judge hit for the three-run homer.
That prompted the broadcasters to wonder whether Rice had picked up something from Minter and was relaying pitch information to Judge.
The broadcast also acknowledged the key distinction. It presented no evidence that the Yankees used electronics, video, or any prohibited system.
One Twins broadcaster said while the replay was shown:
“We’re just pointing out what we saw. On the right was on the change up, on the left was on the fast ball. He never goes to the knees on the right. So, was there something there? Only they know, but completely within the rules of the game.”
Twins.TV‘s Monday crew included Corey Provus, Justin Morneau, Trevor Plouffe, and Audra Martin. The available transcript does not reliably identify which voice made the comment, so this story does not assign it to a specific broadcaster.
That final phrase matters. MLB distinguishes on-field observation from prohibited electronic or video use to decode signs. Its electronic sign-stealing restrictions were clarified and strengthened in 2017 and 2018. Nothing shown Monday established that the Yankees crossed that line.
Judge makes the pitch count
The suspicion drew attention because of what happened next.
Judge had looked rusty for much of his first week back. He grounded into a double play and struck out twice before Minter came inside with the cutter Judge drove out. The homer was Judge’s 18th of the season and turned a two-run lead into a five-run cushion.
Rice’s reaction captured how quickly the at-bat changed the night.
“Oh my goodness, that was quite a shot,” Rice said. “What a swing. You could really get used to seeing that, especially this time of year.”
Rice’s September surge adds another layer
Updated season game logs through Sept. 14 show Rice batting .263 with 38 home runs, 92 RBIs, 96 runs and an .888 OPS in 143 games.
A PinstripesNation review of those game-by-game results shows an even sharper recent run. In nine games since Sept. 4, Rice is 13-for-31, a .419 average, with three home runs, five RBIs and seven walks.
That production mattered during Judge’s long absence. Rice’s two-run single Monday produced the Yankees’ first lead after Minnesota went ahead 2-1 in the sixth.
No evidence of an illegal Yankees scheme
The broadcast replay created a provocative moment, but the available evidence stops well short of proving illegal sign stealing.
There has been no public indication that MLB is investigating Rice, Judge, or the Yankees over the play. There is also no evidence that technology was used to decode Minter’s pitches.
Whether Rice’s movements were intentional signals or ordinary baserunner behavior has not been publicly established.
The Yankees won because their eighth inning overwhelmed Minnesota’s bullpen. Caballero tied the game, Rice delivered the go-ahead hit, and Judge punished a cutter for three more runs. Schreiber later closed the 8-3 victory with a game-ending double play.
For the Yankees, the larger result is secure. They are headed back to October. Nothing shown publicly establishes that Rice or the Yankees violated MLB rules.
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