{"id":892511,"date":"2026-09-15T05:14:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T05:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/892511\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T05:14:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T05:14:43","slug":"aaron-judge-yankees-clinch-2026-mlb-playoff-berth-updated-bracket-picture-and-standings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/892511\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Judge, Yankees Clinch 2026 MLB Playoff Berth, Updated Bracket Picture and Standings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite being without star slugger Aaron Judge for over three months, the New York Yankees are back in the playoffs for the third straight year.<\/p>\n

Following the Toronto Blue Jays’ loss to the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees clinched a postseason berth as they seek their first World Series title since 2009. New York also beat the Minnesota Twins on Monday. <\/p>\n

As the Yankees clinched on Monday, the New York Mets were eliminated from playoff contention. <\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the updated playoff picture and standings after New York punched its ticket to the playoffs.<\/p>\n

American League Division Standings<\/p>\n

American League Wild-Card Standings<\/p>\n

National League Division Standings<\/p>\n

National League Wild-Card Standings<\/p>\n

The Yankees were 36-23 when Judge went down with a stress fracture in his rib at the end of May. The captain finally returned<\/a> to the lineup on Sept. 8 against the Colorado Rockies, giving New York some much-needed firepower for the stretch run of the season.<\/p>\n

During the three-time AL MVP’s absence, the Yankees stayed afloat by going 45-39 over the next three months. While multiple hitters posted below-league-average numbers, a few bright spots saved New York’s season.<\/p>\n

Third-year slugger Ben Rice has enjoyed a breakout campaign, ranking seventh in the majors with 38 home runs. Trade deadline acquisition Luis Garcia Jr. added even more power to the lineup. Rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. showed the makings of a future superstar when he was called up to the majors in early August.<\/p>\n

However, it’s been the Yankees’ pitching that kept them competitive throughout the year. New York leads MLB with a collective 3.24 ERA, with AL Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler leading a strong staff that also includes Max Fried, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon.<\/p>\n

Still, the Yankees will need some steady production from their hitters if they hope to avoid continued postseason disappointment. New York made its first World Series appearance since 2009 two years ago, only to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. Last season, the team fell to the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS.<\/p>\n

If Judge can return to his MVP form while New York’s pitching staff remains dominant, the Yankees will have a strong chance to return to the Fall Classic and right the wrongs of the past few years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite being without star slugger Aaron Judge for over three months, the New York Yankees are back in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892512,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-892511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}