MLB Thursday round-up: Yankees and Dodgers clinch divisions, White Sox avoid outright futility record

(CNN) — The New York Yankees clinched the American League (AL) East title on Thursday night with a 10-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

The Bronx Bombers were spurred on by the exploits of Aaron Judge, who went deep for the fifth straight game with a two-run homer in the seventh inning.

Should Judge go deep in Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he will become only the fourth player this decade to achieve the feat. Joey Votto and Mike Trout managed seven consecutive games with homers in July 2021 and September 2022, respectively, while Rafael Devers managed six in a row in May this year.

The two-run shot against the Orioles took Judge to an MLB-leading 58 on the year. The last two MLB players to hit 58 in a single season since 2007 were both in the Yankees’ lineup on Thursday: Judge himself hit an AL-record 62 in 2022, and Giancarlo Stanton had 59 in 2017 for the Miami Marlins.

Stanton was also heavily involved in New York’s comfortable victory over Baltimore, picking up four RBIs and his 27th home run of the year.

Thursday’s game was the 14th time this season Judge and Stanton homered in the same game, tying the franchise record set by Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in 1961.

Stanton’s solo shot got the Yankees on the board in the second inning, but the major damage was done in the sixth after Orioles starter Corbin Burnes had been replaced by Yennier Canó. After loading the bases, Canó was quickly swapped for Cionel Pérez, who walked Austin Wells to bring home a run.

Things went from bad to worse for the Orioles in the next at-bat, Stanton hit a double to bat in three and Anthony Rizzo hit a line drive single to right field to bring home two more, making it 7-0.

Judge’s home run in the seventh made it 9-0, then an Alex Verdugo solo shot in the eighth made it 10-0. Emmanuel Rivera’s sac fly in the ninth was Baltimore’s only reply.

After missing the postseason in 2023, the Yankees have secured a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the AL Division Series.

“Coming up short last year, it stings,” Judge said, according to AP. “It hurts just like any other year that you don’t win a World Series, but that one hurt a little bit more. So we wanted to make a statement, come back here and put ourselves in a good position going into the postseason.”

Dodgers clinch NL West with hard-fought victory over Padres

Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Dodgers secured their 11th National League (NL) West title in 12 seasons with a 7-2 win over the San Diego Padres.

Having spent more than $1 billion in contracts in the offseason, the Dodgers entered this year as understandable favorites for the division. But Los Angeles has had to deal with a number of significant injury setbacks – all five pitchers that were in the rotation at the start of the season have been injured at least once or traded.

“They all feel sweet, but I’ll tell you, man, with what we’ve gone through this year, this feels a tick sweeter,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, per MLB.com. “I’m just so proud of these guys, the way that we’ve fought the adversity, stuck together and found a way to win this division again. It was hard-fought; we earned it.”

It wasn’t easy for the Dodgers on the night, either. Finding themselves 2-0 down in the seventh inning, Will Smith tied the game with a two-run homer, before Shohei Ohtani’s RBI single gave Los Angeles the lead. Mookie Betts’ two-RBI single made it 5-2, and Andy Pages hit a two-run homer in the eighth to round out the score.

It is the first time in seven seasons in the MLB that Japanese superstar Ohtani has made the playoffs.

“I’m really happy,” he said through interpreter Will Ireton, according to MLB.com. “Today, I came to the stadium really wanting to clinch, and I’m happy we did that today. This series was something special. It was something that stood out for me over the year. Obviously, to be able to clinch it is the reason I am here (with the Dodgers).”

White Sox avoid worst record in modern MLB history yet again

There are many factors that can motivate a team. The promise of championships, an expectant crowd, the desire to send a retiring teammate out on a high.

Right now, it would appear the Chicago White Sox are being spurred on by the threat of baseball ignominy.

The White Sox picked up their third consecutive win on Thursday, beating the Los Angeles Angels 7-0 to once again ensure that, for now, they do not suffer a modern MLB-record 121st defeat of the season.

Since Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the San Diego Padres, Chicago has been tied with the 1962 expansion New York Mets for the most losses in modern major league history, which dates back to 1901, and avoided setting the outright record.

The 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the all-time record for losses when the then National League team finished with an abysmal 20-134 record. The Spiders won just one of their final 41 games.

Chicago avoided setting the infamous mark courtesy of an excellent 6 1/3 innings from starting pitcher Chris Flexen – who struck out seven and gave up just five hits – as well as a monster fifth inning in which the White Sox scored all seven of their runs.

The White Sox are three wins away from avoiding being modern baseball’s worst ever team and their remaining games come against the Detroit Tigers, who are going for an AL Wild Card spot.

“I think guys are excited after this series,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said, per AP. “It’s going to be a fun atmosphere there. These guys are playing for (the) postseason. We’re going there to compete and not make it easy and try to get wins and try to just keep going.”

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