The Yankees‘ 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles in Sunday’s regular-season finale puts New York into the playoffs on a high note.
Takeaways
How does Luis Gil factor into the Yankees’ playoff rotation? The right-hander’s mixed outing — two runs (back-to-back fourth-inning homers) on three hits while striking out two and walking two in five innings — leaves the door open to whom the third starter should be with rookie Cam Schlittler trending behind veterans Max Fried and Carlos Rodón.
Gil (4-1, 3.32 ERA) threw 45 strikes on 79 pitches and, while deserving of more run support, could not hold the Yankees’ 1-0 lead after first baseman Ben Rice‘s first-inning solo shot. While the Toronto Blue Jays’ pending win over the Tampa Bay Rays (they led 13-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning when this was published) left the Yankees on the outside looking in at the AL East, Gil had a chance to make a statement and did not.
Rice’s second home run — a go-ahead solo shot to lead off the eighth inning — put the Yankees ahead, 3-2, and capped a strong first full regular season for the 26-year-old. After logging 50 games last year, he ended his 2025 campaign slashing .255/.337/.499 with 26 home runs and 65 RBI in 138 appearances.
Desigated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is heating up at the right time. The veteran slugger torched the Orioles (75-86) this weekend for five hits (three home runs) and seven RBI, capped by Sunday’s fourth-inning RBI single to tied the game at 2-2. Stanton, 35, winds down Year 8 as a Yankee while slashing .273/.350/.594 with 24 home runs and 66 RBI in 77 games. He has turned up his intensity in the postseason, and the end of the regular season appears to be a teaser for that.
Who’s the MVP?
Rice, whose two home runs were the difference for the Yankees (94-68).
What’s next
The Yankees, pending the finish of the Blue Jays’ game against the Rays, are set to be in the AL Wild Card against the Boston Red Sox with Tuesday’s best-of-three series opener.