MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — 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 Monday on a night they clinched their 61st postseason berth and ninth in 10 seasons.
Judge had been 3 for 20 with 11 strikeouts since returning last week after missing 84 games because of a fractured rib. Judge hit a cutter from A.J. Minter 415 feet into the second deck in left field for his 18th home run this season, his first since May 24.
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Minnesota Twins' Ryan Kreidler (5) reacts after striking out during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Dean Kremer delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New York Yankees' Jose Caballero celebrates while running the bases after hitting a solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge watches his three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge celebrates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
His drive came a few minutes before Detroit beat Toronto, clinching a playoff berth for the Yankees.
New York (87-63) has won six of seven and moved a season-high 24 games over .500. The Yankees are 3 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Tampa Bay (90-59).
Josh Bell homered off Tim Hill (5-2) and Emmanuel Rodriguez had a two-run triple for the Twins, who have lost eight of 11 while fading from postseason contention.
José Caballero hit a go-ahead homer in the third inning and a single off Andrew Morris (4-8) that tied the score in the eighth. Ben Rice added a two-run bloop single and, after a Cody Bellinger infield single, Judge elicited a hearty roar from the large contingent of Yankee fans with his no-doubt drive.
Austin Wells homered in the ninth. John Schreiber earned his second save with 1 1/3 hitless innings.
In his second-longest start since being acquired from Baltimore Aug. 1, Minnesota’s Dean Kremer allowed two hits and struck out five in 5 2/3 innings. New York starter Will Warren scattered five hits and struck out six over 5 2-3 innings in his fourth straight strong outing — third start.
New York LHP Max Fried (4-4, 2.73 ERA) and Minnesota RHP Bailey Ober (7-5, 4.28) start Tuesday.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Minnesota Twins' Ryan Kreidler (5) reacts after striking out during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Dean Kremer delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New York Yankees' Jose Caballero celebrates while running the bases after hitting a solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge watches his three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge celebrates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A predominantly Muslim region in the southern Philippines held its first elections for a regional parliament Monday and Tuesday following years of delays, moving it closer to self-rule after decades of insurgency and violence.
Officials said turnout was over 80%, even as five people were killed in election-related violence in the regional capital and polling was extended to a second day in some precincts over a suspected effort to cheat.
More than 20,000 soldiers and police officers were deployed to provide security for the election.
Voters are choosing the 80 members of a regional parliament, who will in turn elect a chief minister in their first session. The winners are expected to be announced by the end of Tuesday.
Authorities extended voting for a second day in 36 out of 86 precincts in Maluso town on Basilan island after finding pre-filled-out ballots. New ballots for 16,000 affected voters were printed and delivered late Monday and polls will remain open for them until 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Commission on Elections Chairman Erwin Garcia celebrated the high turnout and said those behind the attempted cheating will be charged with election sabotage.
“The elections stand on generations of Bangsamoro struggle for homeland, identity, and self-determination, in the face of dispossession, marginalization, conflict and sacrifice,” Garcia said in an earlier statement
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was established under a 2014 peace deal, replacing an older autonomous region with a larger, better-funded and more powerful area. The new region has been run by an appointed transitional government made up of former guerrilla leaders since its creation.
The largest Muslim rebel group — the Moro Islamic Liberation Front — gave up its pursuit of independence from the largely Roman Catholic country in exchange for broader autonomy and the group’s 40,000 fighters promised to demobilize and join civilian life.
The region covers five provinces, plus three cities and 63 additional villages, and is home to nearly 2.4 million voters.
Since the 1970s, about 150,000 combatants and civilians have died in the southern Philippines, while development was stunted in the country’s poorest region. With bombing attacks and kidnappings, Mindanao was viewed as a haven for al-Qaida and the Islamic State group until a U.S.-backed Philippine offensive weakened the militants.
In May 2017, IS-linked militants laid siege to the city of Marawi, triggering five months of ground assaults and airstrikes that left more than 1,100 people, mostly militants, dead and destroyed the mosque-studded city’s commercial and residential districts.
“Whoever wins, hopefully we will see change,” said Sittie Ashuya L. H. Omar, a 22-year-old voter from the city of Marawi. “Hopefully they can implement their promises."
A man attacks a vehicle from an opposing group outside a school used as a polling center during the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections in Cotabato city, southern Philippines, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo)
A Muslim woman votes at the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections at a school in Lanao del Sur province, southern Philippines, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Richel V.Umel)
An armored personnel carrier stays at a checkpoint during the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections at a school in Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur province, southern Philippines, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Richel V.Umel)
A Muslim woman voter shows the indelible ink on her fingers after voting the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections at a school in Lanao del Sur province, southern Philippines, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Richel V.Umel)
A group attacks a vehicle from an opposing group outside a school used as a polling center during the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections in Cotabato city, southern Philippines, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo)
