Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole send Yankees to AL East title

NEW YORK — The speeches were brief, and for good reason. No one in the room wanted to delay the celebration a moment longer.

Once manager Aaron Boone closed his postgame remarks with the words “go get after it,” the home clubhouse at Yankee Stadium transformed into the Bronx’s hottest nightclub, where dozens of bottles were popped and sprayed with glee.

The Yankees earned the right to party on Thursday evening as American League East champions, their 10-1 victory over the Orioles representing an early and important step in their objective of raising the franchise’s 28th World Series championship banner.

“You’ve got to celebrate things like this,” said captain Aaron Judge, squinting through a bubbly shower. “It takes a lot of hard work to come out here and win a division. We’re going to celebrate tonight and then look forward to October.”

Judge also hit his Major League-leading 58th home run as the Yanks secured a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the American League Division Series. The club is preparing to participate in its 59th postseason, the most in Major League history.

“It’s awesome just to be a part of this,” Stanton said. “It’s been a long year of ups and downs. We’re in a good spot, but there’s a lot of work to do.”

Cole fired 6 2/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball in his final tune-up before the playoffs, backed by Stanton, who bashed a solo homer in the second inning off Corbin Burnes and cleared the bases with a three-run double in the sixth off Cionel Pérez.

“It was a special night,” Cole said. “This is what you want as a player. The division is right there for the taking. You’ve got to go out there and get it.”

In some ways, Boone said he considered it fitting that Baltimore’s victories in the first two games of this series forced the Yankees to keep their celebration on ice, since little has come breezily for his club this season.

“I feel like we’ve been through a lot as a team already this year, so I’d like to think we’re battle-tested for what’s ahead,” Boone said. “I’m really excited for these guys that persevered through a lot of moments in the season. There’s a long way to go, but I know we’ll enjoy this right now.”

Powered in large part by a campaign that will likely produce Judge’s second AL Most Valuable Player Award, with Juan Soto’s numbers not far behind, the Yankees steamed out of the gate to a 50-22 record. At the conclusion of play on June 14, they held a 3 1/2-game lead in the division.

That early performance was especially notable considering the absence of Cole. The AL’s reigning Cy Young Award winner, Cole did not make his season debut until that month, hindered by a spring injury to his right elbow.

Cole’s return unexpectedly coincided with underperformance, with the roster riding through a midsummer swoon that saw them play .500 ball (15-15) from July 1 through August.

That left the door open for Baltimore or another challenger to take control of the race, but that didn’t happen. As Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said, “It’s a good team over there. They played better than us the second half.”

“This season was hard for us, even though we’ve clinched here with a few games to go,” Cole said. “We’ve weathered the ups and downs and put ourselves in a good position to play good ball here going forward.”

These Yanks found their footing in the final month of the regular season, when they won five consecutive series from Sept. 6 on.

Asked if they believe they are the team to beat in the playoffs, Stanton replied: “We’d better be. That’s the point.”

“We’ve got it, from top to bottom,” Stanton said. “It’s not about what’s on paper, though. It’s about showing up. Really, this [celebration] won’t mean much in about a week, when it’s time to get to work.”

With the plastic sheeting covering their lockers thoroughly drenched, the Yankees marched into center field as a group, spraying more beers to toast their accomplishment. A couple of stragglers missed the photo opportunity, but if the Yankees have their way, more opportunities will be on tap over the coming weeks.

“We missed it last year, which definitely disappointed everybody in this room,” Judge said. “When you wear these pinstripes and play in this stadium, you’re expected to win. We came up short [in 2023]. We want to make a statement that it isn’t going to happen again.”