After missing the postseason last year, the New York Yankees are back in a familiar place. With a 10-1 win over the second-place Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night, the Yankees wrapped up the American League East division title. Now guaranteed one of the top two seeds in the AL field, they will get a bye to the Division Series. It is the Yankees’ 21st AL East title since the advent of divisional play in 1969, and their third in the last six seasons.
Postseason loading…#RepBX pic.twitter.com/0SykN4yL2K
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 27, 2024
Yankees Win 2024 AL East Title
Thursday’s win came on the heels of two losses to open the series against the O’s. It featured a top-tier pitcher’s duel between aces Gerrit Cole and Corbin Burnes. Both pitchers were humming along through the first five innings, with the lone blemish on either side being a solo homer from Giancarlo Stanton to give the Yankees a 1-0 second-inning lead.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde opted to lift Burnes after five innings of work. Despite his low pitch count, the Orioles are trying to manage their ace’s workload ahead of the postseason. It was then that the floodgates opened for the Bronx Bombers. A bases-loaded walk by Austin Wells, a bases-clearing double by Stanton, and a two-run single by Anthony Rizzo gave New York a 7-0 lead. One inning later, Aaron Judge continued his MVP campaign with a two-run shot. It was his fifth straight game with a homer, giving him 58 on the season. To cap things off, Alex Verdugo hit a solo shot in the eighth. The Orioles scored their lone run on a ninth-inning sac fly by Emmanuel Rivera. Cole went 6 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win.
Only three games remain on the regular season schedule, a home series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the AL East title locked down, the Yankees’ last objective is to sew up the American League’s best record, which would give them home-field advantage through the ALCS. They are trying to fend off the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians, who trail them by one game. Cleveland closes their regular season with a three-game set against the Houston Astros, who unsurprisingly will also be back in the postseason fold after winning another AL West title.
Photo Credit: © Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
