The New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels 9-1 on Thursday to clinch their first American League East division title since 2012.
The win was also New York’s 100th of the season, matching last season’s total and giving the franchise consecutive 100-win seasons for the first time since a three-year stretch from 2002-04.
The Yankees got the job done with the long ball, scoring seven of the nine runs on four homers. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning on DJ LeMahieu‘s 25th home run of the season, and Brett Gardner drove in another three runs with a solo shot in the fourth and a two-run double in the sixth. Cameron Maybin and Clint Frazier also hit homers.
LeMahieu joined Gleyber Torres (38), Gary Sanchez (34), and Gardner (26) as Yankees to reach the 25-homer mark this season. It’s the fifth season in franchise history, and second straight, that at least four players hit at least 25. Aaron Boone is the first manager in MLB history to win 100 games in each of his first two seasons.