Going into their last series against the rival Baltimore Orioles (86-70) on Tuesday, the New York Yankees (92-63) magic number to clinch the American League (AL) East division was down to one. With the Yankees’ successive win, they once again sit atop the East.
The Orioles trailed the Yankees by five games in the division standings. However, the division title was still technically in reach for the Orioles; a three-game sweep of the Yankees would pull them within two games of leading the division. If both teams were to have the same record at the end of the regular season, the Orioles would win the division due to them holding the tiebreaker since they won the season series over the Yankees.
The Yankees found themselves in a challenging situation during games one and two.
During game one, Aaron Judge blasted a home run deep into left field for his league-leading 56th of the year, marking his third straight game with a home run. Despite this and a pair of runs batted in (RBI) by Juan Soto and Gelyber Torres, the Yankees could not overcome the Orioles in this close contest. The Orioles emerged victorious with a final score of 5-3. This win clinched the Orioles a postseason berth and put them within four games of the Yankees for the division lead.
Prior to game two, the Yankees placed Wednesday’s starting pitcher, Nestor Cortes, on the injured list. This forced them to turn to right-handed pitcher (RHP) Marcus Stroman, who had recently been moved to the bullpen, to start the game. Stroman’s struggles continued, as he gave up six runs in 3 ⅓ innings. The bullpen could not limit the damage, giving the Orioles a 9-3 lead going into the ninth inning. The Yankees, however, were not going down without a fight. They started the ninth with an RBI single from Soto, followed by a three-run home run from Judge to bring the game within two. Nonetheless, this rally was too little, too late for the Yankees, who lost the game with a final score of 9-7.
The Yankees offense exploded in game three behind a dominant performance by Gerrit Cole. Cole went 6 ⅔ innings, holding the Orioles to only two hits. Giancarlo Stanton got the ball rolling with a solo home run in the second inning that put the Yankees on top. The 1-0 score held until the sixth, where the Yankees scored six runs, highlighted by Stanton clearing the loaded bases with a three RBI double. Judge hit a two-run home run in the seventh, extending his lead for the most home runs in the league to 58. It was also his fifth straight game with a homer. RHP Tim Hill closed out the Yankees 10-1.
With Thursday’s win, the Yankees clinched their 21st American League East division championship and will jump to the American League Division Series (ALDS) to start the postseason.
During the postgame celebration, Giancarlo Stanton was asked if the Yankees are the team to beat in the playoffs.
“Well, we better be. That’s the point,” Stanton answered.
The Yankees look to finish the job this year as they continue to ride out a 15-year World Series drought.
