NEW YORK — If I was one of the scouts who’s been gathering intel on the Yankees this month, I wouldn’t have much to add about Aaron Judge (home run machine), Juan Soto (auditioning for his payday) or Giancarlo Stanton (just got his October wake-up call.)

Gerrit Cole pitched a gem, Giancarlo Stanton drove in four runs and Aaron Judge hit his MLB-best 58th home run as the New York Yankees emphatically clinched the AL East with Thursday's 10-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

The Yankees didn’t get the Gerrit Cole they expected for much of the season thanks to the inflamed elbow that sidelined him until mid-June. And even after his return, the results were mostly nothing like what they were a year ago,