Yanks Beat Sox In 10, Clinch Playoffs, Judge Waits

Last night, Aaron Judge did not hit his 61st home run of the season. In fact, he didn't even get a hit, although he did draw 3 walks -- each of them, arguably, of the "unintentional intentional walk" variety.

But the important thing is, the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, clinched at least a Playoff berth, and moved closer to clinching the American League Eastern Division title.

Jameson Taillon was brilliant: He pitched 6 innings, allowed no runs, earned or otherwise, 4 hits, just 1 walk, and struck out 8. Although he had thrown 101 pitches, he showed no signs of tiring. And, thanks to a sacrifice fly by Kyle Higashioka in the 5th inning and a home run by Giancarlo Stanton in the 6th, he had a 3-0 lead.

But because Brian Cashman is an idiot, and because Aaron Boone is a coward who follows Cashman's orders, Clarke Schmidt was sent out to pitch the top of the 7th, and he gave up home run, single, walk and home run, before then getting the next 3 batters out. As the late, great Phil Rizzuto would have said, "But the damage is done. I tell ya, Bill White, this is unbelievable, I'm gettin' agita here. Holy cow." It was Scum 4, Good Guys 3.

The finally-healthy Harrison Bader continued to make good, hitting a sac fly to tie the game in the bottom of the 8th. With 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, it was all set up for Judge to be a walkoff hero. And, for a moment, it looked like he was, as he drove one to deep center field. But at the last instant, the ball stopped its forward movement, and was caught, 404 feet from home plate, when the fence is 408.

In the top of the inning, Judge reminded us that he's also a great right fielder: Clay Holmes gave up what looked like a double to Tommy Pham, but Judge threw him out at 2nd base. Yes, Shohei Ohtani can pitch, which Judge doesn't even try; but can he field his position as well as Judge fields his? No, he can't. Holmes then got through the 9th with no further damage. The game went to extra innings, and Holmes pitched a perfect 10th.

Marwin González was the Yankees' ghost runner to start the bottom of the 10th. With 1st base open, and a run there meaning nothing, the Sox wisely gave the hot-hitting Gleyber Torres an intentional walk to set up a double play, especially with the struggling Donaldson at the plate. But Donaldson hit one through the shortstop-3rd base hole, and González scored easily. Ballgame.

Yankees 5, Red Sox 4. WP Holmes (7-4). No save. LP: Kaleb Ort (1-2). The Toronto Blue Jays had already lost, so the Yankees' Magic Number to clinch the AL East is 6.

This series is a weird one, as Yanks-Sox series tend to be. The biggest reason it's weird is that it was set for 4 games, on 4 different TV networks. Last night's game was on Fox. Tonight's game, because it's a Friday night, will be on Apple+, which most Yankee Fans don't have. This has made some fans guess that tonight will feature Judge hitting not just Number 61 to tie Roger Maris' AL (and non-cheating MLB) record, but Number 62 to break it. Tomorrow afternoon's game is on YES, and Sunday night's game is on ESPN.

The projected starters for tonight are Gerrit Cole for New York, and Rich Hill for Boston. Come on you, Pinstripes! Beat The Scum!