The New York Yankees are going back to the American League playoffs, so now they can suddenly turn their sights to winning the AL East.
The Yankees rallied for a 3-2, walk-off win over the Chicago White Sox to clinch their 60th playoff berth and their eighth in the past nine seasons.
New York (89-68) was down to its final strike and trailing 2-1 before Anthony Volpe scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. The Yankees then won it on Jose Caballero’s walk-off single that assured them of their seventh postseason berth in Aaron Boone’s eight years as manager.
The AL East Is ‘Right There’ For The Yankees
The Yankees won for the 27th time in their past 39 games and have shaved 5.5 games off the six-and-a-half game deficit to the Toronto Blue Jays in just one month.
So the fact the Yankees clinched a postseason berth seemed almost secondary — despite the ski goggles and champagne sprays — especially after Toronto fell 4-1 at home against the Boston Red Sox that whittled the Jays’ lead to just one game with five to play — though Toronto does have the tiebreaker.
Our ultimate goal is to win our division,” Yankees captain Aaron Judge said. “It’s right there for us. We’re excited about getting in, but there are bigger things ahead of us.”
The Yankees sat in first place for 100 days between Opening Day and July 2 before the Jays took the division lead by sweeping four games from the Yankees north of the border. Toronto led by as many as 6.5 games as recently as Aug. 23 and were five games up on the Yankees as recently as one week ago.
Yet, the Jays have cratered, going 1-6 in their past seven. Coupled with the Yankees‘ continued inspired play — they are 19-8 in their past 27 games, 11-5 in their past 16 games and are 6-1 in their past seven — and Toronto is clinging to the division lead.
That has the Yankees dreaming bigger.
We’re not here just to get in as the wild card,” infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “We’re here to win the division.”
Making Playoffs ‘Is First Step’ For The Yankees
Though their sights are set higher, the Yankees persevering to make the postseason was not lost on manager Aaron Boone.
“You try not to take these moments for granted,” Boone said. “It’s hard to get to this point. … You go through 162 [games], and it’s a grind. It’s the ultimate grind. We’ve been through a lot as a club this year.”
To Boone’s point, the Yankees have weathered injuries to ace starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, ALCS MVP Giancarlo Stanton and reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge. They’ve had multiple six-game losing streaks and have blown leads in 33 games.
Yet, somehow they are now a season-best 21 games over .500 with just five games to play, and they’re feeling dangerous as October approaches.
We’re playing really well right now,” Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger said. “Ultimately, we believe in each other. We have a really good team, and we just gotta keep playing good baseball.”
Boone echoed Bellinger’s sentiments.
“To right the ship and get to where we’re playing really good baseball, hopefully now at the most important time of the year, feels really good,” Boone said. “This is an important step in the process, and I’m glad the guys are getting to celebrate it and really get to appreciate one another and the journey that it is.”
Yankees Rally To Clinch Playoff Spot, Trail Blue Jays By 1 Game With 5 Left