The New York Yankees have clinched a winning record for the 33rd straight year.
Aaron Judge helped guarantee the Yankees would finish the 2025 season with a record of over .500 with two hits and a home run in a 4-1 Friday night win over the Boston Red Sox.
The Yankees improved to a 82-65 with the win. The club remains three games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the top of the AL East.
Judge opened scoring for the Yankees by hitting a 468-foot first-inning home run on the second pitch he faced from Red Sox starter Lucas Giolito.
The hit marked the 362nd homer of Judge’s career, moving him past Joe DiMaggio on the Yankees’ all-time home runs leaderboard. Only Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Lou Gehrig have hit more balls out of the park for the franchise, per Baseball Reference.
Judge drew a walk from Giolito in the third inning before he was scored on an RBI single from Cody Bellinger.
The Yankees capitalized on infield errors by the Red Sox to increase the lead to four runs in the seventh inning.
Luis Gil took home the win after holding Red Sox batters without a hit through six innings. Boston’s only run of the night came off a Nate Eaton home run in the bottom of the seventh frame.
How the rest of this weekend’s series shapes up could play a large role in the final outlook of the AL East, which the Blue Jays have yet to clinch.
The Red Sox, who are scheduled to play the Yankees again on Saturday and Sunday, sit 1.5 games back of the Yankees for the top AL Wild Card spot and 4.5 games back of the Blue Jays for the division lead.
The Yankees will look to secure their postseason spot during the 15 games remaining in the 2025 season, beginning with Saturday’s rematch against the Red Sox at 4:10 p.m. ET.