Yankees clinch playoff berth behind Judge return, ace arms — SkimNews
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- Yankees clinched a playoff spot for the third consecutive season and ninth time in 10 years after the Blue Jays lost Monday, extending a streak of 34 straight winning records dating back to 1992.
- Aaron Judge returned from a May 31–Sept. 8 injury absence and homered Monday; the Yankees are 41-24 when he starts versus 46-39 when he doesn't, underscoring his lineup-altering presence.
- Cam Schlittler, 25, leads MLB with a 1.95 ERA (216 ERA+) in his second major league season and posted 12 strikeouts in last October's elimination game — making him the AL Cy Young front-runner.
- Gerrit Cole returned from Tommy John surgery with a 3.48 ERA and 83 strikeouts over 77⅔ innings across his last 13 starts, though home-run issues in his last two outings are a concern heading into October.
- Max Fried owns a 2.73 ERA across 18 starts despite two injured list stints and brings more than 75 innings of postseason experience from the 2021 champion Braves.
- The Yankees lead all of baseball in team ERA even with extended starting pitcher absences — a critical edge in a postseason where rotations shrink to three or four arms.
- The AL field looks historically thin, with the West champion and final wild card projected barely above .500, meaning the league's three best records could eliminate each other before the ALCS.
Why it matters: The Yankees have reached the postseason nine times in 10 years without a World Series title since 2009, and a weak AL combined with Judge's healthy return gives them their clearest title path in years — but the article itself flags that the short Wild Card round creates fluky upset risk, including a possible quick exit to the Red Sox.
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