Yankees Highlights: Tanaka stellar as Bombers clinch a playoff spot

For the first time in nearly seven years, the Yankees clinched the AL East. They did so in a straightforward 9-1 win over the Angels, one in which pretty much everything went right. The race for the division has been over in all but name for a while now, but it’s still great to see the mission officially accomplished.

Winner(s) of the Game

We’re all familiar with Masahiro Tanaka’s work in the playoffs for the Yankees. He’s turned in multiple tremendous starts when the lights were brightest, and tonight, Tanaka was excellent in clinching the Yankees a spot in the postseason tournament. He made short work of the Angels’ lineup, needing only 86 pitches to toss seven innings of one-run ball, striking out six with only four hits.

Providing the winning margin was DJ LeMahieu, whose second-inning three-run bomb gave New York an early lead they wouldn’t relinquish:

Honorable mention: Brett Gardner smoked his 26th dinger of the year, and Clint Frazier added a two-run shot in the eighth.

Loser of the Game

Luke Voit is down here only because of some awful fortune. Voit’s third-inning flyout came off the bat at 102 mph and traveled 361 feet, per Statcast, and his fifth-inning lineout was struck at 101 mph. He was left with an 0-for-4 day with two strikeouts, though he probably deserved a couple of extra-base knocks.

Chart

FanGraphs