About Last Night: NYY 10, BAL 1

By Ethan Semendinger

September 27th, 2024

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In a game that may have determined the AL East, the Orioles and Yankees went head-to-head with their ace pitchers. The Yankees won 10-1!

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Quick Stats -

• Winning Pitcher: Gerrit Cole (8-5, 3.41 ERA)

• Losing Pitcher: Corbin Burnes (15-9, 2.92 ERA)

• Save: N/A

• Home Runs (Baltimore): None

• Home Runs (New York): Giancarlo Stanton (27), Aaron Judge (58), Alex Verdugo (13)

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Big Story - Going into this three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles, the Yankees needed to get just one win in order to secure the top spot of the American League East.

Since then, the Yankees dropped the first two games, while salvaging bad games with some late (and ultimately meaningless) runs.

Last night the Yankees needed to correct. The playoffs are right around the corner and the team needs to go into it feeling hot.

After Tuesday and Wednesday, skeptics started talking.

On Thursday, the Yankees wanted to quiet the haters. This was the line-up to do so:

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Player(s) of the Game -

• Gerrit Cole: 6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, AL EAST CLINCHING WIN!

• Giancarlo Stanton: 2-4, 2 Runs, Double, Home Run, 4 RBI's, 2 K's

Notable Performances -

• Aaron Judge: 1-2, 2 Runs, Home Run, 2 RBI's, 2 BB's, 1 K

• Anthony Rizzo: 2-4, 2 RBI's, 1 K

• Austin Wells: 0-3, Run, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K

• Alex Verdugo: 1-1, Run, Home Run, RBI

• Tommy Kahnle: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

• Clay Holmes: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Better to Forget -

• Anthony Volpe: 0-4, 2 K's

• Gleyber Torres: 0-4, Run, BB, 3 K's

• Jasson Dominguez: 0-2, Run, BB, 2 K's

• Tim Hill: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K

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The Game - It was a pitchers duel early and often through the first half of the game as both the Orioles and Yankees starters- Corbin Burnes and Gerrit Cole, respectively- came prepared last night.

Through the first three innings of the game for Gerrit Cole, featured just 2 strikeouts, but only one blemish: coming from a 2-out walk in the 3rd inning by James McCann.

Meanwhile, Corbin Burnes recorded 7 strikeouts (of 9 total outs!) and was only hit against 2 times. However, these hits pushed across a run from a Giancarlo Stanton solo home run, and also featured a Jazz Chisholm single.

For Gerrit Cole, his trend would continue for his next three innings (4, 5, and 6), allowing just two more blemishes: a 5th inning single from Ramon Urias and a 6th inning single from James McCann, while recording 2 more strikeouts.

And for Corbin Burnes, he would see success through the 5th inning, allowing just a walk to Aaron Judge in the 4th. However, his night was ended ahead of the 6th inning, when the Orioles brought in Yennier Cano.

After an Anthony Volpe strikeout, Gleyber Torres walked, Juan Soto singled, and then Aaron Judge walked the bases-loaded, which ended Cano's night for Cionel Perez...who immediately walked Austin Wells (2-0, Yankees), allowed a 3-RBI double to Giancarlo Stanton (5-0, Yankees), and then got a Jazz Chisholm groundout.

With 2-outs in the 6th, Bryan Baker came in, who walked Jasson Dominguez, allowed a 2-RBI single to Anthony Rizzo (7-0, Yankees), and finished the inning with another Volpe strikeout.

Gerrit Cole's day would ended after getting back-to-back outs in the 7th, before the likes of Tommy Kahnle and Clay Holmes worked through the Orioles line-up to finish the 7th and 8th innings without problem.

Meanwhile, the Yankees added another run in the 7th via an Aaron Judge 2-run home run (his 58th of the season and 5th in 5 straight games!) and the 8th via an Alex Verdugo home run.

In the 9th, Tim Hill was brought in for relief, allowed 3 straight 1-out singles, worked a sacrifice fly (10-1, Yankees), and then finished the game with a Cedric Mullins groundout.

THE YANKEES WIN!

THE YANKEES CLINCH THE AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST!

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I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed on a high note after this victory. This is just the 3rd time in the last 10 years (technically 12 years) that the Yankees have won the AL East.

Both other times, the Yankees made it to the ALCS, but were beaten by the Houston Astros (in 2019 and 2022).

But, enough about that.

Here are some fun facts:

• The Yankees magic number to get the Number 1 seed in the American League is down to 2.

• Judge and Stanton homered in the same game for the 14th time this season (tying a NYY record with Maris and Mantle in 1961)

• Gerrit Cole looked like an ACE again, and against a team the Yankees could see again in the playoffs

• (I said this earlier, but it bears repeating) Aaron Judge is on another home run streak with 5 home runs in 5 straight games, moving him up to 58. The big 60 IS IN REACH AGAIN!

• THE YANKEES WON THE AL EAST AGAIN!

GOOD night everybody!

and GOOD morning!

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Next Up - Tonight, the AL EAST WINNING NEW YORK YANKEES (93-66) start their last series of the 2024 regular season, at home, against the Pittsburgh Pirates (74-85). Carlos Rodon (16-9, 3.98 ERA) will take the mound for the Yankees as the Pirates send Jared Jones (6-8, 4.14 ERA) to start. The game will begin at 7:05 PM and be broadcast on YES.