Despite what could have been a rough morning after a celebration, the team instead focused on their playoff ambitions.
After enjoying a champagne-drenched victory celebration, the Yankees regrouped, ready to charge at their division with both their captain and ace leading the way.
Aaron Judge’s homers—his 50th and 51st of the season—alongside Max Fried’s strong outing, contributed to an 8-1 victory over the White Sox on Wednesday. This win, combined with the Red Sox’s defeat of the Blue Jays, leaves all three teams tied in the AL East race.
With one game remaining against Chicago and three against the Orioles, the Yankees are in a precarious position, given that Toronto holds the tiebreaker (90-68). The Blue Jays still have a series left against the Red Sox and will also host the Rays.
While the Yankees expressed their discontent with merely making the playoffs, they backed it up by celebrating a bit more vigorously than expected in the clubhouse.
Manager Aaron Boone’s squad is battling the same summer slumps that have plagued them for seasons, having experienced a six-game losing streak just three months ago.
On the bright side, teams aiming for the postseason are gaining momentum, with solid performances all around. However, the Blue Jays seem to have emulated the Mets’ earlier struggles.
The Yankees showed up with a notable improvement on the pitching front, as Fried delivered a stellar performance—seven innings, just one hit, and one run with two walks—in his first year with the team, positioning himself for consideration for the Cy Young Award. He finished the season with a 2.86 ERA over almost 200 innings and will likely be the starting pitcher in the postseason’s first game.
Defensively, the Yankees were also sharp, highlighted when Paul Goldschmidt intercepted a line drive and executed a double play to end the sixth inning.
The lineup has seen a resurgence, achieving significant hits over three innings. The hot-hitting Ben Rice tripled and scored from a Goldschmidt single, leading to a four-run cushion after Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubled, evading a stop sign.
And then they really came alive.
In the bottom of the second, with two runners on base, Judge took matters into his own hands, hitting a pivotal three-run homer into the bullpen—making him just the fourth player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs in a season, joining legends like Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa.
Judge, who has had enormous seasons in the past, including 52 home runs in 2017, 62 in 2022, and 58 in 2024, now has four more games left to add to his total and strengthen his case for the MVP award for the third time in five seasons.
On Tuesday, there was no trace of the celebratory atmosphere in the clubhouse. The focus appeared sharper than ever.
“I’m just thankful for where we are. But we recognize the bigger picture and what we aim to achieve,” Boone commented ahead of the match.
