MLB: Yankees and Dodgers win divisions, White Sox avoid zero record

CNN
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The New York Yankees secured the American League (AL) East title with a 10-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday evening.

The Bronx Bombers were buoyed by the heroics of Aaron Judge, who hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning for the fifth straight game.

If Judge goes deep in Friday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he would become just the fourth player this decade to achieve that feat. Joey Votto and Mike Trout hit seven straight games of home runs in July 2021 and September 2022, respectively, while Rafael Devers hit six straight games in May of this year.

The two-run throw against the Orioles gave Judge an MLB-leading total of 58 this year. The last two MLB players to hit 58 in a single season since 2007 were both on the Yankees' roster Thursday: Judge himself reached an AL record 62 in 2022, and Giancarlo Stanton had 59 for the Miami Marlins in 2017.

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

Thursday's game marked the 14th time this season that Judge and Stanton hit a home run 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 field in the second inning, but the most damage came in the sixth inning after Orioles starter Corbin Burnes was replaced by Yennier Canó. After loading the bases, Canó was quickly traded 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 lead off three and Anthony Rizzo hit a line-drive single to right field to score two more, making the score 7-0.

Judge's home run in the seventh made it 9-0, and a solo shot by Alex Verdugo in the eighth made it 10-0. Emmanuel Rivera's sack fly in the ninth was Baltimore's only answer.

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

“Being close last year hurts,” Judge said, according to the AP. “It hurts just as much as any other year not to win a World Series, but this one hurt a little more. That’s why we wanted to make a statement, come back here and put ourselves in a good position for the postseason.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers secured their eleventh National League (NL) West title in twelve seasons with a 7-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

After spending more than $1 billion on contracts in the offseason, the Dodgers understandably entered the division as favorites this year. But Los Angeles has endured a number of significant injury setbacks – all five pitchers in the rotation to begin the season were injured or forced out at least once.

“They all feel sweet, but I'm telling you, man, after what we've been through this year, this feels a touch sweeter,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, according to MLB.com. “I’m just so proud of these guys, the way we fought the odds, stuck together and found a way to win this division again. It was hard fought; We deserve it.”

It wasn't easy for the Dodgers that evening either. Trailing 2-0 in the seventh inning, Will Smith tied the game with a two-run home run before Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI single to give Los Angeles the lead. Mookie Betts' two-RBI single made it 5-2, and Andy Pages hit a two-run home run in the eighth to round out the score.

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

“I’m really happy,” he said through interpreter Will Ireton, according to MLB.com. “Today I came to the stadium with the absolute desire to win and I'm glad we managed to do that today. This series was something special. It was something I noticed over the course of the year. Obviously the reason I’m here (at the Dodgers) is so I can win it.”

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

For now, it looks like the Chicago White Sox are buoyed by looming baseball ignominy.

The White Sox picked up their third straight victory on Thursday, defeating the Los Angeles Angels 7-0 to once again ensure that they will not suffer their modern MLB record 121st defeat of the season.

Since Sunday's 4-2 loss to the San Diego Padres, Chicago has tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in modern major league history, dating back to 1901, and avoided the to set an overall record.

The 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the all-time losing record as the then-National League team finished with an abysmal record of 20-134. The Spiders have won just one of their last 41 games.

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

The White Sox are just three wins away from becoming the worst team ever in modern baseball, and their remaining games come against the Detroit Tigers, who are gunning for an AL wild-card spot.

“I think the guys are excited after this series,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said, according to the AP. “It will be a great atmosphere there. These guys are playing for the postseason. We’re going there to compete and we’re not making it easy for ourselves, we’re trying to get wins and just keep going.”