NEW YORK -- The speeches were brief, and for good reason. No one in the room wanted to delay the celebration a moment longer.

Once manager Aaron Boone closed his postgame remarks with the words ¡°go get after it,¡± the home clubhouse at Yankee Stadium transformed into the Bronx¡¯s hottest nightclub, where dozens of bottles were popped and sprayed with glee.

The Yankees earned the right to party on Thursday evening as American League East champions, their 10-1 victory over the Orioles representing an early and important step in their objective of raising the franchise¡¯s 28th World Series championship banner.

¡°You¡¯ve got to celebrate things like this,¡± said captain Aaron Judge, squinting through a bubbly shower. ¡°It takes a lot of hard work to come out here and win a division. We¡¯re going to celebrate tonight and then look forward to October.¡±

Giancarlo Stanton homered and drove in four runs to support Gerrit Cole¡¯s strong effort, helping the Bombers clinch their second division title in three years. It is the franchise¡¯s 21st division crown all-time.

Judge also hit his Major League-leading 58th home run as the Yanks secured a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the American League Division Series. The club is preparing to participate in its 59th postseason, the most in Major League history.

¡°It¡¯s awesome just to be a part of this,¡± Stanton said. ¡°It¡¯s been a long year of ups and downs. We¡¯re in a good spot, but there¡¯s a lot of work to do.¡±

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Cole fired 6 2/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball in his final tune-up before the playoffs, backed by Stanton, who bashed a solo homer in the second inning off Corbin Burnes and cleared the bases with a three-run double in the sixth off Cionel P¨¦rez.

¡°It was a special night,¡± Cole said. ¡°This is what you want as a player. The division is right there for the taking. You¡¯ve got to go out there and get it.¡±

In some ways, Boone said he considered it fitting that Baltimore¡¯s victories in the first two games of this series forced the Yankees to keep their celebration on ice, since little has come breezily for his club this season.

¡°I feel like we¡¯ve been through a lot as a team already this year, so I¡¯d like to think we¡¯re battle-tested for what¡¯s ahead,¡± Boone said. ¡°I¡¯m really excited for these guys that persevered through a lot of moments in the season. There¡¯s a long way to go, but I know we¡¯ll enjoy this right now.¡±

Powered in large part by a campaign that will likely produce Judge¡¯s second AL Most Valuable Player Award, with Juan Soto¡¯s numbers not far behind, the Yankees steamed out of the gate to a 50-22 record. At the conclusion of play on June 14, they held a 3 1/2-game lead in the division.

That early performance was especially notable considering the absence of Cole. The AL¡¯s reigning Cy Young Award winner, Cole did not make his season debut until that month, hindered by a spring injury to his right elbow.

Cole¡¯s return unexpectedly coincided with underperformance, with the roster riding through a midsummer swoon that saw them play .500 ball (15-15) from July 1 through August.

That left the door open for Baltimore or another challenger to take control of the race, but that didn¡¯t happen. As Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said, ¡°It¡¯s a good team over there. They played better than us the second half.¡±

¡°This season was hard for us, even though we¡¯ve clinched here with a few games to go,¡± Cole said. ¡°We¡¯ve weathered the ups and downs and put ourselves in a good position to play good ball here going forward.¡±

These Yanks found their footing in the final month of the regular season, when they won five consecutive series from Sept. 6 on.

Asked if they believe they are the team to beat in the playoffs, Stanton replied: ¡°We¡¯d better be. That¡¯s the point.¡±

¡°We¡¯ve got it, from top to bottom,¡± Stanton said. ¡°It¡¯s not about what¡¯s on paper, though. It¡¯s about showing up. Really, this [celebration] won¡¯t mean much in about a week, when it¡¯s time to get to work.¡±

With the plastic sheeting covering their lockers thoroughly drenched, the Yankees marched into center field as a group, spraying more beers to toast their accomplishment. A couple of stragglers missed the photo opportunity, but if the Yankees have their way, more opportunities will be on tap over the coming weeks.

¡°We missed it last year, which definitely disappointed everybody in this room,¡± Judge said. ¡°When you wear these pinstripes and play in this stadium, you¡¯re expected to win. We came up short [in 2023]. We want to make a statement that it isn¡¯t going to happen again.¡±