Daily Report – 9/25/25
Yankees
“If they want New York to win, just tell me and give it to them already!”
The atmosphere in the American League East has gotten so heated that on Tuesday, Toronto’s George Springer – who once cheated his way to a World Series title – screamed this at a crew of umpires (Jomboy Media). The Boston Red Sox have taken two of three games from the Blue Jays to begin their three-game set. One Blue Jays loss tonight, coupled with a Yankees win, means the Yankees move into first place.
It’s hard to believe what we’re watching is real. Nine days ago, the Yankees sat five games behind Toronto for the lead in the AL East, and it felt like the Blue Jays had a lock on the division title. Yet somehow, the Yankees have climbed up the ladder to tie Toronto for the division lead. The Blue Jays own the tiebreaker over New York, but the division could go any which way.
“I always believed,” said Jazz Chisholm Jr. “Just looking at the names on this team and the talent around this clubhouse, how can you not believe in this team?”
The American League standings have shifted so seismically in the last week that the Seattle Mariners have won the AL West and the Cleveland Guardians have overcome Detroit for the top spot in the Central. Seattle ranks just one game behind the Yankees and Blue Jays for the best record in the AL, and they’ll likely clinch a first-round bye tonight. But the other bye will go to New York or Toronto.
“All across Major League Baseball, it’s been a crazy 10 days,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “I think we all expected it to be that way. […] For us, it’s about handling our business.”
The Yankees clinched a playoff spot on Tuesday as they overcame a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox. It was José Caballero who, with one swing of the bat, sent the Yankees to the postseason. He battled through a nine-pitch at-bat, and when he finally got a pitch to hit, he looped it into center field for a walk-off single, which secured the Yankees their 60th postseason berth in franchise history.
“It’s amazing,” said Caballero, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had. I knew we were going to clinch the postseason, but I didn’t know it was going to be this way.”
Before the Yankees popped champagne after Tuesday’s dramatic win, Boone shared some words of encouragement, congratulating his club for reaching the playoffs, but reminding them that this is one small step of a long journey that will hopefully result in redemption from last year’s disastrous World Series.
“It’s been a challenging year, no question about it,” said Boone. “But at my core, and especially as we got here to the couple final months, […] I felt like our best baseball was absolutely ahead of us, and hopefully is still ahead of us. […] You never know what’s going to happen once we get there, but I feel like we’re walking in there as a confident team.”
But make no mistake. Caballero’s walk-off moment was historic, and hopefully it’s just one small piece of the puzzle as the Yankees try to win their first championship since 2009.
“This is the beginning,” Caballero said. “We’re going for everything, man. We’re going for the trophy.”
Photo Credit: Yankees
Last night, the Yankees picked up their 90th win, beating the White Sox 8-1, which tied them with the Blue Jays for the division lead. This time, Aaron Judge stole the show. The Yankees captain crushed his 50th and 51st home runs of the season, further cementing his spot in the AL MVP race. Judge now has four 50-home run seasons in his career, and for the first time, he’s achieved the feat in consecutive seasons. He’s also just the fourth player in MLB history to post four 50-homer seasons, joining Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Babe Ruth. Furthermore, his 46 career multi-home run games are tied with Mickey Mantle for the second most in Yankees history. Babe Ruth leads the franchise with 68.
“If you sit back and admire it, you’re going to stop your momentum,” said Judge, who is trying desperately to set himself up for a good postseason and change the narrative on how he performs in October. He has a .205 batting average and a .768 OPS in 58 career playoff games. “[There’s] a lot of work that needs to be done. Hopefully, I have a long career here, we do some special things, and we can talk about it at the end.”
Judge finished the night 3-for-4 with a walk and four RBI. His first home run, his 50th of the year, came with runners at first and second base. He crushed the first pitch he saw, a middle-in sinker, all the way to the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center field. Number 51 took the form of an eighth-inning solo shot against a high four-seam fastball.
Before Judge cranked his 51st home run, Trent Grisham delivered a two-run blast, his 34th of the season, to right-center field. Grisham has enjoyed a season filled with career highs, and this one came with two outs and paved the way for the hot-hitting captain to get another at-bat.
Judge’s “consistency is incredible,” said Max Fried, who capped a sensational season with seven innings of one-run ball. He has saved the Yankees’ rotation this season, filling in wonderfully at the pole position while Gerrit Cole recovers from Tommy John surgery. “Every game that he plays, everyone is giving their best stuff to him, every single day. The consistency and discipline that he’s able to have, not taking an at-bat off and making sure that he’s doing everything that he can. His ability to lock in like that, it’s extremely impressive.”
Last night, Ben Rice caught Fried for the first time this season, and “Fried-Rice” will come ready-to-order this October on a baseball diamond near you. Fried finished his first Yankees season with a league-leading 19 wins, plus a 2.86 ERA and 189 strikeouts. He has allowed no more than three earned runs in each of his last seven starts, and he looks to carry that momentum into October.
“Not finished yet,” the Yankees’ ace proclaimed. “It’s been very apparent the goal of this team is to go to [the] playoffs, get deep in the playoffs, and win a World Series.” Fried has won a World Series before, so he knows what it takes to get there, but his career postseason statistics aren’t that impressive. In 20 games and 12 starts, the southpaw holds a 5.10 ERA and a 2-5 record.
“I like to put a lot of team goals in front of how I individually do,” said Fried. “If we come out and go deep in the playoffs and win a World Series, I’ll say it was successful.”
“He’s been an ace,” said Judge. “From the very first day, he was like, ‘I want to help out. I want to help this team win and get us back where we belong.’”
Maybe this is the year Fried turns in a great postseason. Maybe he and Judge will finally figure things out.
Photo Credit: Yankees
Tonight, at 7:05 PM (6:05 PM CDT), LHP Carlos Rodón (17-9, 3.04 ERA) will make his final regular-season start against RHP Davis Martin (7-10, 4.03 ERA) of the Chicago White Sox (YES). The Yankees initially waited for a standings update before announcing today’s starter. Had they been further from the division lead, they would have saved Rodón to start a Wild Card game.
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
CF Trent Grisham (L)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
1B Ben Rice (L)
DH Giancarlo Stanton (R)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
C Austin Wells (L)
SS Anthony Volpe (R)
3B Ryan McMahon (L)
SP: LHP Carlos Rodón (17-9, 3.04 ERA)
Schedule
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CDT): 2025 NHL Preseason Hockey – NYR vs. NYI; MSG, Gotham Sports
7:05 PM (6:05 PM CDT): NYY vs. CWS; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: LHP Carlos Rodón (17-9, 3.04 ERA)
8:15 PM (7:15 PM CDT): Thursday Night Football (TNF), Week 4 – Seattle Seahawks (2-1) at Arizona Cardinals (2-1); Prime Video
