NFL
By Billy Lewis
Coming into every season every player and team comes up with regular season goals. If you take yourself a World Series contender, step one on that list is to win your division. Thursday night in the Bronx, the New York Yankees were able to check the division title off the list.
Behind a strong start by Gerrit Cole, and early timely hitting by Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees beat the Orioles 10-1 to salvage the final game of their season series, but more importantly clinch the AL East. It was an early pitching duel between Cole and Corbin Burnes when Stanton was able to get the Yankees on the board with a second-inning solo home run.
Burnes would only pitch five innings, racking up nine strikeouts along the way but the Yankees would pounce on Baltimore’s bullpen. With Burnes out of the game in the sixth inning, the Bronx Bombers would load the bases. Austin Wells earned an RBI with a bases-loaded walk. Then Stanton came up in a huge spot and unloaded the bases with a three-run double.
Anthony Rizzo added a two-run single and the Yankees ended the sixth with a seven-run lead and the division all but in hand. Aaron Judge would add his 58th home run of the season in the seventh (also his fifth straight game with a home run). The much-maligned Alex Verdugo capped the Yankees’ night with a solo home run in the eighth to put a ten spot on the board and add an exclamation point to the Bronx night.
At the end of the night, the New York Yankees came away with a 10-1 win and their first division title since 2022.
New York Yankees Just Getting Started
The final thing to check off on the regular season checklist would be to finish with the best record in the American League. The Yankees (93-66) currently hold a one-game lead against the Cleveland Guardians (92-67).
However, the Yankees won the season series against Cleveland, so if the two teams end up with the same record the Yankees will still be the one seed in the American League.
The Yankees host the Pittsburgh Pirates to finish up their season, while the Guardians will finish by hosting the Astros. As long as the Yankees take two of three against the Pirates, they’ll be guaranteed the one seed. It would be their first time with the one seed in the American League since 2012.
Buckle up Yankee fans, the Bronx will be rocking as the calendar turns to October!
