Yankees Clinch AL East, Judge Still On 60

The next step toward a 28th World Championship for the New York Yankees is out of the way. Last night, against the Toronto Blue Jays, at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Jameson Taillon was brilliant, pitching 7 and 2/3rds innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and no walks. Although he does give up more home runs per start than any Yankee pitcher except Gerrit Cole, he usually doesn't beat himself.

He needed baserunners. Aaron Judge gave them to him: He was walked 4 times, and still did not hit his 61st home run of the season. Many online Yankee Fans calling the Jays "chicken" (well, it is another form of bird), but the YES Network announcers -- Michael Kay, David Cone and Paul O'Neill -- seemed to be in agreement that it wasn't "the old unintentional intentional walk." They had a point: Judge had a full count in every at-bat except his 1st, when he lined out to 3rd base, a great catch by Matt Chapman. I'd like to chalk it up to Judge having a good batting eye, which has him leading in all 3 Triple Crown categories with 8 games to go.

Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres gave the Yankees back-to-back singles in the 3rd inning, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead. Another Torres single made it 3-1 in the 5th. In the 6th, an Aaron Hicks double and yet another RBI single from Torres made it 5-1, before the Jays subsequently got a run back. Torres had been in a horrible slump over the Summer, and the Yankees followed. His hot streak since has also been matched by the team as a whole.

Lou Trivino got the last 4 outs, including a grounder to 2nd for the final out, clinching the American League Eastern Division Championship. Yankees 5, Blue Jays 2. WP: Taillon (14-5). SV: Trivino (11, but his 1st for the Yankees since coming over from the Oakland Athletics). LP: José Berriors (11-7).

This is the 20th time the Yankees have won the Division. Actually, it's the 21st, since they were in 1st place in 1994 when the season ended, but Major League Baseball does not officially count that. The Los Angeles Dodgers also have 20 plus 1994, for 21. The Atlanta Braves have 21, without having won in 1994, and could win a 22nd, because, last night, the Mets completed their choke of their National League Eastern Division lead, and are now tied with the Braves. Counting American League Pennants won before Divisional Play began in 1969, this is the 50th time the Yankees have finished 1st.

With the Division title secured, and 1st place overall in the AL probably out of reach with the Houston Astros 6 1/2 games ahead, the only thing left to play for is Judge's pursuit of the AL home run record of Yankee Legend Roger Maris, 61. Like Babe Ruth, but unlike Maris, Judge got to 60 within 154 games. And, like Ruth and Maris, but unlike the other men to hit 60 home runs in a season -- Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds -- he appears not to have used steroids or any other method of cheating.

The series in Toronto concludes tonight. If it still matters to you, Gerrit Cole starts against Mitch White. Cole is 4 strikeouts short of Ron Guidry's single-season Yankee record of 248. If he doesn't get hurt early, or bombed out of the yard early, he'll break it. And hardly anybody will care, and some fans might not even notice.

Then, after a day off tomorrow, the Yankees come home to face the Baltimore Orioles. The ideal situation would be for Judge to hit Number 61 tonight, and then Number 62 on Friday, at home.