Yankees clinch AL East with rout of rival Orioles
NEW YORK — All that sparkling wine, on ice since Tuesday, was swiftly delivered to the New York Yankees’ clubhouse during the latter stages of Thursday night’s game.
Capping a four-RBI night, Giancarlo Stanton’s three-run double highlighted a six-run sixth inning at Yankee Stadium, where the home crowd happily celebrated an AL East-clinching 10-1 win.
Adding to the festive feel against the Baltimore Orioles, ace Gerrit Cole was delivered a standing ovation for his 6.2 scoreless innings by 42,022 fans, while Aaron Judge was serenaded with more “M-V-P’’ chants.
Winding down an incredible offensive year, Judge’s seventh-inning, two-run shot was his 58th of the year and his fifth homer in the last five games – tying a personal career mark.
As the Yankees captain told O’s catcher Adley Rutschman the other day, “we’ll probably be seeing you down the road,’’ which might be next week.
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Other than a Stanton solo home run, all of the Yankees’ Thursday night damage came against Baltimore’s bullpen after O’s ace Corbin Burnes exited after five innings (to stay fresh for postseason).
In victory, the Yankees (93-66) gained instant entry to the best-of-five AL Division Series, beginning Oct. 5 in the Bronx, while the second place Orioles (88-71) must first survive a wild card round.
And the playoff-bound O’s would be a dangerous October opponent, having gone 8-5 against the Yanks in the regular season, including two wins in this just-completed three-game set.
“It’s tournament baseball,’’ Yankees manager Aaron Boone said this week of the anything-can-happen nature of MLB’s postseason. “We’ll do all we can to be ready for whatever scenario presents itself.’’
Mostly, the Yankees will have time to rest and plan after Sunday’s regular season finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with four days off until the ALDS.
But there’s still a matter of securing the AL’s best record and home field advantage through the AL Championship Series, if they advance that far.
To secure the league’s best mark, the Yankees’ magic number is two over the Cleveland Guardians; any combination of Yankees wins and Guardians losses adding up to two would do it for the Yanks.
And having that home field luxury would be an important advantage for a franchise seeking its first pennant since 2009.
This week brought the bitter news that lefty starter Nestor Cortes, poised to be a key contributor in any pitching role, might be lost for the year due to a strained left flexor.
But the Yanks, collectively, might be healthier than at any point this season, with Anthony Rizzo back in the lineup, Clarke Schmidt back in the rotation and Ian Hamilton back in the bullpen.
“Roster wise, (we) feel like we’re as deep as we’ve been at any time of the year,’’ Boone said this week. “And hopefully, that serves us well.’’
