Yankees clinch AL East: Aaron Judge, Juan Soto lead team to first-round bye with eyes on World Series title

For the second time in three years, the New York Yankees are AL East champions. New York clinched the division title with Thursday’s blowout win over the Baltimore Orioles (NY 10, BAL 1). The win also clinches a Wild Card Series bye and home-field advantage in the ALDS; the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians also have a bye, leaving the AL West winner, the Houston Astros, to play the No. 6 wild-card seed.

“We’re focused,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said this past weekend (via MLB.com). “I think everyone in that room knows what’s at stake and what the mission is, where we’re at in the calendar and the opportunity in front of us. I think guys are just ready to do what we’ve got to do to win ballgames and give ourselves a chance come October.”

As recently as Sept. 8, the Yankees were a half-game behind the Orioles, and the AL East was essentially a toss up. Thursday’s win improved New York to 11-5 since Sept. 8 and dropped the O’s to 6-10. The Yankees took control of the division race these last two weeks while Baltimore continued an extended stretch of mediocre play that dates back to June.

The Yankees have of course been led by the peerless Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, the game’s best offensive duo this season and one of the very best ever. Here is the complete list of Modern Era teams with two qualified hitters with better than a 175 OPS+:

Judge (.461) and Soto (.418) are going to become the first two teammates to finish 1-2 in on-base percentage since Wade Boggs and Mike Greenwell with the 1988 Boston Red Sox. Soto has hit a career-high 41 home runs this year. Judge has 58, making him the fourth player with multiple 58-homer seasons. He joins Ruth, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa.

For much of 2024, Judge and Soto were a two-man army, though the rest of the lineup is now rounding into form. Gleyber Torres is hitting .316/.386/.454 since moving into the leadoff spot on Aug. 16 and rookie Austin Wells has settled into the cleanup spot. Giancarlo Stanton’s return from a hamstring injury brought power and the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade added much-needed athleticism.

Although they lost Nestor Cortes to a flexor strain this week, the Yankees are fairly healthy on the mound. Gerrit Cole, who missed the start of 2024 with nerve inflammation in his elbow, threw 6 2/3 shutout innings Thursday and has a 2.25 ERA with a 26.0% strikeout rate in his last 10 starts, numbers in line with last year’s Cy Young-winning effort. Cole is peaking at the right time.

Righty Clarke Schmidt, who was so good before a lat strain sent him to the injured list in May, returned earlier this month and hasn’t skipped a beat. Luke Weaver has replaced the struggling Clay Holmes as Boone’s go-to high leverage bullpen option. Since Aug. 1, the Yankees have a team 3.69 ERA. Compared to, say, the Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers, their pitching staff is in good shape.

Yankees’ last five playoff appearances

The Yankees have not won the World Series (or even a pennant) since 2009. This is their only guaranteed season with Soto, who will become a free agent after the season, plus Cole and Judge are in their 30s and getting closer to exiting their prime. With no superteam this year and a wide-open AL, the Yankees may never have a better chance to win a title in the Judge era.