Yankees celebrate postseason berth with walk-off win over White Sox, continue AL East chase

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Sep 23, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — As Aaron Boone spoke to reporters on Tuesday afternoon, he insisted that he and his Yankees were taking a “business as usual” approach to the day.

Even though an evening win over the Chicago White Sox would secure a postseason berth for the Bombers, Boone maintained the even-keel messaging that has become a staple of his managerial tenure through good times and bad. “I feel like that’s a strong trait of this group,” Boone said, referring to the Yankees’ ability to turn the page.

“That’s what Major League Baseball is. It’s not lip service,” Boone continued. “That’s our life. You gotta be good at ‘we got another one tomorrow’ no matter how good or bad yesterday was.”

Tuesday ended up being a great night for the Yankees, as their 3-2 win over the White Sox punched their playoff ticket and sparked a celebration on the field at Yankee Stadium. The party, made possible by a game-tying wild pitch and a walk-off single from José Caballero in the ninth inning, carried into the clubhouse, where the pinstripers popped champagne, chugged beer and boogied in the Bronx.

The win also featured a second-inning RBI double from Austin Wells and a two-run, six-inning performance from Luis Gil.

The Yankees’ return to the postseason — the team lost the 2024 World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers — didn’t always appear guaranteed, as a hot start to the season preceded what has become an annual summer swoon.

Plagued by sloppy play for much of that stretch, Boone’s squad went 27-36 from May 30 to Aug. 10 and fell out of first place in the American League East despite leading the division by seven games on May 28. However, the team has rebounded, recording an MLB-best 27-12 record since Aug. 11.

The turnaround has helped the Yankees keep their division hopes alive, as they entered Tuesday two games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays with five games left in the regular season. However, Toronto, who lost to the Boston Red Sox Tuesday, holds the tiebreaker after going 8-5 in head-to-head play this season.

The Yankees now enter Wednesday’s slate just a game behind the Blue Jays in American League East standings with five games remaining.

With the division still within reach, the Yankees lead the Red Sox for the AL’s top wild-card spot. As of now, the Yanks are set to host their nemesis in the best-of-three wild-card Series, which begins Sept. 30.

Should the Yankees play in the wild-card series, they will have to decide who their No. 3 starter will be with Max Fried and Carlos Rodón set for Games 1 and 2.

Gil is in contention with rookies Cam Schlittler and Will Warren. On Tuesday, he continued to yield solid results despite underwhelming metrics.

In addition to two earned runs over six innings, the righty also tallied four hits, two walks, three strikeouts and 89 pitches. However, Gil’s average fastball velocity was down 1.9 mph, and the pitch induced just one whiff. Then again, Gil’s entire arsenal, which also includes a slider and a changeup, only bore three whiffs on 37 swings.

Gil has also struggled with command, walking 31 batters over 52 innings.

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