Yankees Rally Past White Sox 3–2, Clinch Playoff Berth, and Put Toronto on Notice

The Bronx was shaking on Tuesday night for a win that meant everything. The New York Yankees scraped and clawed for nine innings, then ripped the game away from the Chicago White Sox 3 to 2 at Yankee Stadium. With that comeback the Yankees secured their eighth playoff appearance in nine seasons and the sixtieth postseason berth in franchise history. It also moved New York to 89 to 68 and within one game of AL East leader Toronto at 90 to 67. This was not just a check mark in the standings. This was a message to the rest of the league.

José Caballero wrote his name into the late September book of Bronx legends with a two out single in the ninth that scored Aaron Judge and set off a celebration around first base. After months of up and down baseball and too many nights where the bats went quiet, the Yankees found life when it mattered most and finished the job.

Ninth inning drama in the Bronx

Anthony Volpe started the final frame with a clean single to left center. Austin Wells followed with a liner to right that pushed Volpe up a station and woke up the park. The noise built, the crowd stood, and then Trent Grisham rolled a double play. In an instant two on and no outs turned into a runner on third and two down. You could feel the tension hit the brakes.

Then came the decision every club has been making all year. Pitch to Aaron Judge or put him on and hope the next man blinks. Chicago chose the free pass again. It was the second intentional walk of the night for Judge and numbers thirty three and thirty four on the season, extending his team record. His presence alone tilted the inning. Cody Bellinger worked a walk of his own and now the pressure sat squarely on Brandon Eisert, who had already started to tug at the ball like it was a live wire.

Tie game 🙌 pic.twitter.com/zD290032rl

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 24, 2025

The moment cracked. A wild pitch skipped away and Volpe raced home with the tying run. Yankee Stadium erupted. Steven Wilson came in to stop the bleeding, and Caballero dug in for the at bat of his Yankees career. Nine pitches. Foul, breathe, reset, fight again. He finally looped a soft single into center just in front of Brooks Baldwin, and Judge charged home to end it. Caballero got mobbed at first and soaked by Paul Goldschmidt and Wells during the postgame interview. That is heart. That is the grind this clubhouse needed to show.

Called a Cab to walk us off! #RepBX pic.twitter.com/v2A9qX2uDC

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 24, 2025

Playoff ticket punched, but the job is bigger

Let the numbers speak. Eight postseason appearances in the last nine seasons. Sixty in franchise history. Many teams dream for years to get one shot in October. For the Yankees it is a standard, but it still has to be earned, and this group earned it with a 20 and 8 run across the last 28 games. That is not a heater built on luck. That is sustained winning baseball.

Now the focus is not only survival in a Wild Card round. The focus is the division. One game back of Toronto with a handful of games to go changes the energy in the room. It puts every inning under the spotlight. It puts pressure on the Jays and gives the Yankees a clear path. Win today and ask the scoreboard for a little help from anyone facing Toronto. This is the race the Bronx wanted.

Luis Gil auditions and settles

Luis Gil gave the Yankees what they needed for most of the night. Six innings, four hits, two runs, two walks, three strikeouts. The two run blast by Colson Montgomery in the sixth flipped the score, but Gil never unraveled. He attacked, he kept the traffic limited, and he handed the ball off with a chance. For a pitcher fighting to lock down a rotation role when October starts, this was a composed outing. Not fireworks, but enough to keep the club in position for a late push. That is the assignment.

The bullpen covered the final nine outs with a steady hand. Fernando Cruz handled a clean seventh outside of a single. Tim Hill and Luke Weaver tag teamed the eighth and ninth, and Weaver stranded a leadoff double in the top of the ninth to keep it at a one run game. That hold by Weaver set the table for the chaos to come. In a season where late innings have sometimes gone the other way, this time the relievers put up zeros and trusted the lineup to make noise.

Wells and Chisholm supply the spark

Austin Wells continues to plant flags at big moments. His RBI double in the second scored Jazz Chisholm for the first New York run. He later started the ninth inning rally with another solid swing. Two hits and an RBI from the catcher spot with clean work behind the plate is exactly what this team needs as the calendar hits the final week.

Wells laces a double 👊 pic.twitter.com/toTnHI9JNs

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 23, 2025

Chisholm brought life all night as well. Three hits, a stolen base, and constant pressure. When he is on base he changes the geometry of the inning. Pitchers rush. Infielders cheat. Gaps open. That speed and edge feeds the rest of the lineup. It is not just numbers on a line. It is tone setting baseball.

Judge bends the game without a swing

Aaron Judge went 0 for 2 but walked three times, two of them intentional, and scored the winning run. That is superstar gravity. Teams will keep putting him on because they fear the ball landing in the second deck. When the hitters behind him turn those passes into runs, opponents must pick their poison. Tonight the poison was patience. Bellinger refused to chase, the wild pitch evened the score, and Caballero finished it.

Tip the cap to a Chicago rookie

Shane Smith deserves respect. The White Sox rookie posted five innings with one run, five hits, four walks, and eight strikeouts, tying his career high. He worked off a lively fastball and a slider that bit late. He kept the Yankees guessing, and for a while it looked like his night would stand up. The bullpen could not close the door. Brandon Eisert took the loss after the ninth inning spiral, and Steven Wilson could not stop Caballero.

A rare late comeback that can change a season

Here is the part that opens eyes. The Yankees had one win in their previous sixty one games when trailing after eight innings. One. That is the opposite of the old Bronx script. The great Yankees teams hunted late. They flipped games in the eighth and ninth. They owned the final six outs. This group had not worn that identity. Tonight they grabbed it. If that mindset shows up every night the rest of this week, the standings can turn fast.

Soak it in 🍾#RepBX pic.twitter.com/1vAmuIINaG

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 24, 2025

Every pitch counts with the division in reach

Max Fried takes the ball on Wednesday with an 18 to 5 record and a 2.92 ERA. That is an ace line and an October tone setter if he carries it forward. The White Sox have not named a starter. On paper this is advantage New York. On the field it still takes focus, first pitch to last.

The keys are simple. Get an early lead. Force Chicago to chase. Keep traffic off the bases ahead of the middle of their order. Do not give away outs on the bases. Let Judge take the free passes and make the lineup behind him cash them in. Extend innings with two out singles and clean two strike approaches. Play error free defense. The basic things win in the final week.

At bat by at bat, pitch by pitch

Look at how this game evolved and you see a template. Wells brings in the first run with a liner to the corner. Gil limits damage outside of the Montgomery homer. The defense backs the staff with routine work. Then the ninth rolls in and the hitters refuse to fold after the double play. Aggression without panic. That blend has been missing too often. Tonight it showed up.

Numbers that frame the night

• Final score: Yankees 3, White Sox 2
• Records: New York 89 to 68, Chicago 58 to 99
• Hits: Yankees 11, White Sox 7
• Judge intentional walks in the game: 2
• Judge intentional walks this season: 34, extending the team record
• Yankees last 28 games: 20 wins, 8 losses
• Postseason berths in franchise history: 60
• Games back of Toronto in the AL East: 1

Caballero’s moment and what it means

Not every signature play is a blast into the night. Sometimes it is a nine pitch knife fight that ends with a parachute into center. Caballero did not try to do too much. He shortened up, battled, and found grass. That is a winning swing in September. It also shows depth. When opponents walk Judge, the rest of the lineup must answer. Tonight it was Caballero. Tomorrow it can be Bellinger or Rice or Volpe or Wells. That is how division races are won.

The path forward

There is no mystery about what remains. Win the next game behind Fried. Keep the throttle down. Score early, add on late, and let the pitching play to its strengths. The bullpen carried its share tonight. Weaver in particular delivered a clutch hold when he snuffed out a threat in the top of the ninth. Those are the quiet moments that win a series and, by extension, a race.

Toronto can hear footsteps. The Yankees have turned a long season into a sprint and have the horses to finish. A lineup with Judge in the center, speed from Chisholm, timely contact from Volpe, growing authority from Wells, and veteran steadiness from bats like Bellinger and Goldschmidt can grind quality arms. Put that with a top line start from Fried and clean defense and it is a recipe that travels into October.

Final word

This was not just a win. It was a statement about identity. The Yankees did not drift into the postseason. They kicked down the door with a rally that woke up the house. Caballero delivered the swing. Judge bent the inning by forcing the free pass. Volpe and Wells set the table. The pitching staff kept the score where a comeback was possible. All night the team showed belief.

One game back. A handful to play. The division right there. The Bronx has seen this story before. The ending is written by clubs that refuse to blink. Tonight the Yankees stared down a deficit and did not blink. Keep that edge and the crown is within reach.

Game notes

Colson Montgomery hit a two run homer off Gil in the sixth to put Chicago ahead. Gil finished with six innings, four hits, two runs, two walks, and three strikeouts. Wells logged two hits including an RBI double in the second. Chisholm went three for four with a steal and a run. Weaver earned the win and stranded a leadoff double in the top of the ninth. Judge drew three walks and scored the winner. New York clinched a playoff spot for the eighth time in nine seasons and reached the postseason for the sixtieth time in franchise history.

Next up

New York sends left hander Max Fried to the mound on Wednesday with an 18 to 5 record and a 2.92 ERA. The White Sox have not announced a starter.