Yankees win once-tight AL East race as Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole dominate Orioles

NEW YORK — When the Yankees left Baltimore on July 14, they did so with egg on their faces.

The team had just lost a 6-5 ballgame in epic fashion, as Anthony Volpe bobbled a routine grounder before Alex Verdugo faceplanted on a flyball with a 99% catch probability. The ninth-inning defensive implosion spoiled what initially looked like a comeback victory and sent the Yankees into the All-Star break with a second-place record after going 13-21 in their last 34 games.

“That’s a killer, right? Let’s acknowledge that. And it’s been a rough several weeks here for us,” Aaron Boone said after that embarrassment handed the Orioles the division lead. But he added that “it’s all right there in front of us,” a common refrain from the Yankees’ manager.

“We got the pen,” Boone continued. “We get to write this amazing script.”

On Thursday, that pen turned to Sharpie, as the Yankees locked up the American League East and avoided a sweep with a 10-1 win over the Orioles at Yankee Stadium.

Giancarlo Stanton put the Yankees on the board in the second, running into a Corbin Burnes slider for his 27 th homer of the year. Stanton didn’t stop there, though, as the slugger drove in three with a stadium-shaking double in the sixth after Austin Wells drew a bases-loaded walk.

Anthony Rizzo capped the Yankees’ six-run sixth with a two-run single, and Aaron Judge mashed a two-run homer in the seventh. The MVP frontrunner now leads the majors with 58 longballs and has gone deep in five straight games.

Verdugo made it an even 10 runs for the Yankees, as he homered in the eighth before Baltimore finally scored a run in the ninth.

Earlier, Gerrit Cole played the part of stopper after Baltimore won the first two games of the series. The reigning Cy Young never matched Burnes’ singular mistake, as Cole didn’t allow a hit until the fifth frame. He ultimately blanked the birds for 6.2 innings while tallying two hits, one walk and five strikeouts in his final start of the regular season.

Cole’s evening ended with a well-deserved ovation. With the Bronx faithful roaring for its ace, Cole responded with a tip of his cap.

Much of the baseball world expected Baltimore, young, talented and seemingly on the rise after a 101-win 2023 campaign, to win the AL East for the second straight season. However, injuries and a prolonged stretch of poor play doomed the O’s division title chances after the Yankees endured their own streak of midseason mediocrity.

Having defied the preseason predictions of many after missing the playoffs last year, the Yankees planned on celebrating their division crown after Thursday’s game. They already partied last week, as the Bombers raged in Seattle after cementing their postseason return on Sept. 18.

With three games left to spare in the regular season, the Yankees now have a five-game lead over the Orioles. However, the Yankees have refused to underestimate a rival that won the season series and gave them fits earlier in the week.

It’s possible the Yankees will face Baltimore again in the American League Division Series following a first-round bye, so the team has avoided bulletin board material.

“They’re one of the great teams in the league,” Boone said earlier this week. “So you understand how talented and capable their roster is. Anytime you go up against them, you gotta perform. You gotta play well. They can beat you a lot of different ways.”

The playoff picture is still far from certain, though. For now, the pinstripers can set their sights on the American League’s best record. Ending the season with the AL’s top mark would guarantee homefield advantage prior to the World Series.

The Yankees currently lead the AL with a 93-66 (.585) record. The Guardians, 92-67 (.579) and off on Thursday, are next in line. The Yankees hold a one-game lead and the tiebreaker over Cleveland.

The AL’s best record is there for the taking, but the Yankees also plan on resting some players over the last few games of the regular season with the division race now over.

“You gotta take each individual, assess and evaluate where they are, and strike that balance between big picture and the day,” Boone said. “Which, on some level, you’re doing all year. This time of year, obviously, with what’s at stake, there’s a little more of a light on that.”

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