In a thrilling showdown at Yankee Stadium, Aaron Judge ended his long power drought, hitting a crucial home run that propelled the New York Yankees to a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals, completing a clean three-game sweep.

With the score knotted at 3-3 in the seventh inning, Judge stepped up when it mattered most. He launched a deep 1-0 sinker from reliever John Schreiber into the center field stands, a blast that traveled 383 feet and gave the Yankees a pivotal lead.

Despite his previous 10-game stretch without a homer, this marked Judge's seventh home run of the season, tying him for second in MLB – only one shy of the league leaders.

In the eighth inning, Fernando Cruz took the mound looking for his first career save. After a flawless eighth, he returned for the ninth inning, where he faced a tense situation with the tying run on second base. Thankfully, Cody Bellinger delivered a spectacular diving catch in right field to secure victory for the Yanks.

This game also marked the season debut of Clarke Schmidt, who had struggled with right rotator cuff tendonitis earlier in the year. After an awkward start, allowing an early run on a Salvador Perez RBI single, Schmidt found his rhythm, retiring 11 consecutive batters at one point before giving up two more runs in the fifth. His first start finished with 5.2 innings pitched, 4 hits, and 3 earned runs – a strong foundation to build on for the rest of the season.

The Yankees found themselves trailing in the early innings but battled back effectively. In the third, a two-out rally was sparked by Judge’s double to left field. He finished the game 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored, leading the league with a staggering .409 batting average and 1.322 OPS.

After Judge’s single in the first, Anthony Volpe redeemed himself after a strikeout earlier in the game. With two runners on, he smashed a double to left field, driving in two runs and flipping the scoreboard in favor of the Yankees.

Additional two-out magic struck in the fourth inning as Oswald Peraza and Paul Goldschmidt delivered crucial hits, followed by Bellinger’s double that expanded the Yankee lead to two runs, showcasing the team's resilience.

Game MVP honors undoubtedly go to Aaron Judge, whose seventh-inning home run brought the court back to session and lifted the Yankees to victory.

Looking ahead, the Yankees will embark on a seven-game road trip, beginning with a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, with the first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. Fans eagerly await to see if Judge can continue his hot streak!