Yankees and Dodgers Clinch Division Crowns

The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the final two division titles on September 26th as the baseball season entered its final weekend. There are still some Wild Cards to be decided.

In New York, Aaron Judge hit his 58th home run of the season and Gerrit Cole pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings as the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-1 win the AL East. New York (93-66) missed the playoffs last year, but will have a first round bye in the post season this year. Baltimore (88-71) is in as a Wild Card after winning the East last year. The Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers are both 85-74 and in the driver’s seat for the remaining two AL Wild Cards. The Minnesota Twins (82-72) are three games back and on the brink of elimination.

In Los Angeles, the Mookie Betts, Andy Pages, and Will Smith each drove home a pair of runs as the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-2 to clinch the NL West. The Dodgers (95-64) are used to this type of thing; this is their 11th West title in the last 12 years. San Diego has qualified as a Wild Card. The New York Mets (87-70), Arizona Diamondbacks (88-71) and Atlanta Braves (86-71) are fighting it out for the remaining two slots. The Mets and Braves will make up a pair of rainouts on September 30th, which will extend the regular season by a day for those two clubs.