But Judge wasn\u2019t finished. In the eighth, with the outcome already tilting heavily toward New York, he added a second homer, his 51st, a casual reminder that his bat can pile on even when the game feels out of reach for the opponent.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t just the power numbers that stood out\u2014Judge finished with three hits, four RBIs, and bumped his OPS to a ridiculous 1.136. For anyone wavering in the American League MVP race, Judge made sure to plant another flag on his candidacy. He\u2019s not just hitting; he\u2019s carrying his team in the season\u2019s defining moments.<\/p>\n If Judge\u2019s night was about power, Max Fried\u2019s was about control and poise. The Yankees didn\u2019t hesitate to commit $218 million over eight years to the lefty, and through his debut season in New York, he has validated every penny.<\/p>\n Facing the White Sox, Fried wrapped up his campaign with seven innings of precision. He allowed just one run on four hits, struck out seven, and limited mistakes in a performance that summed up his entire season: efficient, confident, and borderline dominant.<\/p>\n With Gerrit Cole sidelined for the year, Fried\u2019s arrival was more than just a luxury\u2014it was a lifeline. His final ERA of 2.86 in the gauntlet of the American League speaks volumes. If it weren\u2019t for the seasons turned in by Tarik Skubal or Garrett Crochet, Fried\u2019s name would be sitting comfortably in Cy Young conversations. Instead, he\u2019ll have to settle for the role of ace on a team with October ambitions.<\/p>\n For weeks, the Yankees seemed destined to be chasing Toronto without much hope of catching them. Now, with just four games left, New York has momentum, motivation, and a sense of timing that couldn\u2019t be better.<\/p>\n The Red Sox, fighting for their own playoff lives, have every reason to keep pressuring the Blue Jays on Thursday. If Boston can play spoiler again, the Yankees could walk through the door Judge and Fried kicked open on Wednesday.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no guarantee of course\u2014the AL East has been a knife fight all year\u2014but for the first time in what feels like forever, the Yankees can say the odds tilt in their favor. A first-round bye means avoiding the volatility of the Wild Card and entering October with rest, health, and confidence.<\/p>\n In baseball, momentum is often compared to a storm: hard to measure, impossible to control, but undeniable when it\u2019s bearing down. Right now, that storm is wearing pinstripes, and Aaron Judge and Max Fried are leading the charge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Aaron Judge\u2019s two-homer night and Max Fried\u2019s dominant start powered the New York Yankees past the White Sox, keeping their AL East title hopes alive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":103939,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Yankees](\"https:\/\/empiresportsmedia.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1250,height=834,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/MLB-Chicago-White-Sox-at-New-York-Yankees-27161598.jpg\")
Fried\u2019s First Season in Pinstripes Ends in Style<\/h2>\n
![\"Yankees](\"https:\/\/empiresportsmedia.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1250,height=1562,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/MLB-Chicago-White-Sox-at-New-York-Yankees-27160958.jpg\")
Momentum on the Yankees\u2019 Side<\/h2>\n