The Yankees maintained their place tied atop the AL East standings on Thursday night, sweeping the lowly White Sox, 5-3, at Yankee Stadium.
They weren't able to claim sole possession of first place for the first time since July 3, however. The division-rival Blue Jays own the head-to-head tiebreaker, and they wrapped up Thursday with a 6-1 home win over the Red Sox.
Due to these results, the worst-case scenario for the Yankees will be hosting a best-of-three Wild Card series next week. Their opponent just may be the Red Sox, too.
Here are the takeaways…
— The Yankees were primed to dig the White Sox into an immediate hole, as a single from Trent Grisham, a double from Aaron Judge, and a walk from Cody Bellinger set the bases loaded with nobody out in the first inning. But they fell short of inflicting much damage against Davis Martin, as their lone run from the threat came on a weak fielder's choice groundout from Ben Rice. Davis proceeded to strike out Giancarlo Stanton and force Jazz Chisholm Jr. into a groundout.
— The missed opportunity to tack on runs came back to bite them in the second, as Carlos Rodón allowed a leadoff single and then hit a batter. After a sac bunt that pushed the runners into scoring position, Corey Julks flied out to deep center that brought the tying run home. It was still a milestone inning for Rodón, however. He ended the frame with his 200th strikeout of the season, becoming the sixth left-hander in franchise history to accomplish the feat. His first 200-strikeout campaign came in 2022, as a member of the Giants.
— Yet another bases-loaded rally for the Yankees was squandered in the second, as Bellinger grounded softly to first with two outs to end the threat and keep the game tied. But the table was set on a whopping 35th intentional walk to Judge this season, a new AL record. The Yankees' captain was briefly tied with legend Ted Williams, who set the mark back in 1957. The free-pass stat became official two years earlier.
— The lack of run support hurt Rodón in the fourth, when he served up a two-out, two-run homer to Michael A. Taylor that gave the White Sox a 3-1 lead. It was the 22nd long ball allowed by the veteran southpaw this season, but compared to the career-worst mark (31) he set in 2024, the Yankees can declare some progress to his long-established homerless bugaboo. Luckily for Rodón, his teammates eventually came through in the batter's box.
— Stanton entered Thursday with a measly .175 average across 69 plate appearances in September, and his monthly strikeout total climbed to an ugly 35 through his first two at-bats. But the veteran slugger made the most of his third trip to the plate in the fifth, delivering a three-run double down the left-field line off reliever Tyler Gilbert that put the Yankees ahead, 4-3. It was somewhat of a gift for Stanton — while he ripped the ball 109 mph to third, the grounder was misplayed by Curtis Mead on a backhand attempt. The wet grass slowed the ball down just enough to clear the bases.
— Rodón flirted with trouble in the sixth, allowing a leadoff double to highly-touted rookie Colson Montgomery. But the youngster ruined the White Sox's threat on the basepaths, mistakenly running on contact on a grounder hit to shortstop just two pitches later. Anthony Volpe took advantage of Montgomery standing too far off second, throwing over to third so Ryan McMahon could force the tag. Rodón then capped off his final regular-season start by inducing a strikeout and groundout. Overall, he allowed three runs on four hits and one walk with five punchouts over six innings. Fans should tip their cap to Rodón, who logged a career-high 33 outings and 195.1 innings with a commendable 3.09 ERA. It was also his 18th quality start of 2025.
— Luke Weaver took over in the seventh, retiring the side on seven pitches. He's now registered five straight appearances without a run allowed (4.2 innings). The Yankees blew another bases-loaded chance in the sixth, bumping their left-on-base total to an alarming nine, but they managed to send a fifth run home on a deep RBI double from Austin Wells in the seventh. Stanton set up the opportunity with a leadoff walk, and Jasson Dominguez wound up crossing the plate as his pinch-runner.
— Devin Williams entered the eighth looking to extend his scoreless appearance streak to eight, and he did just that. But the inning wasn't stress-free. While he induced a pair of strikeouts, he sent the go-ahead run to the plate after allowing a walk and a single. Williams' third out was a hard liner to left from Miguel Vargas that Bellinger shrewdly tracked. No harm, no foul for the high-leverage reliever. The Yankees were able to exhale. David Bednar handled the ninth with ease, recording his 26th save of the season with two groundouts and one strikeout on 18 pitches.
Game MVP: Giancarlo Stanton
It took a while for the Yankees to produce a back-breaking hit, but Stanton's three-run double in the fifth gave them a lead they didn't relinquish.
Highlights
200 strikeouts this season for Carlos Rodón 👏 pic.twitter.com/9B1QHqSQKd
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 25, 2025
GIANCARLO STANTON CLEARS THE BASES! pic.twitter.com/zJI7JKtHyT
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 26, 2025
Austin Wells rips an RBI double 💪 pic.twitter.com/Ho00nt8VqJ
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 26, 2025
What's next
The Yankees (91-68) will wrap up their regular season slate at home, with a weekend series against the last-place Orioles. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
RHP Will Warren (8-8, 4.35 ERA) is lined up to take the mound, opposite LHP Trevor Rogers (9-2, 1.35 ERA).
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