6 things to know from the weekend in MLB: Yankees look stronger than ever, Dodgers not so much

There are only two weeks, four series and about 13 games left in the 2024 MLB regular season. Much has already been decided (the White Sox are not making the playoffs), but many questions remain unanswered.

Each game, at this point in the year, carries added importance for the teams trying to play autumnal baseball. Sunday was also Roberto Clemente Day around MLB, featuring a host of meaningful tributes to the legendary, trailblazing Puerto Rican outfielder.

Here’s everything you need to know from the weekend.

Judge exhilarates, Cole perplexes in Yankees series win over Red Sox

In the Bronx, it was an eventful, jubilant weekend. The Yankees took three of four from the Red Sox to (1) open up a three-game lead over Baltimore atop the AL East and (2) effectively end Boston’s postseason hopes by pushing the Red Sox 4.5 games adrift of a wild-card spot.

On Friday, Aaron Judge delivered the defining moment of his club’s season to date. With the bases juiced in the seventh and the Yanks down three, the AL MVP front-runner clubbed a go-ahead grand slam for his 52nd long ball of the year. Yankee Stadium lost its collective mind. Judge’s teammates hurdled over the dugout railing like children. It was, as many noted, one for the DVD.

Before that blast, Judge had been mired in the longest homerless stretch of his career. He went yard again on Sunday. The Paw Patrol Curse is officially dead.

But Judge’s stirring slam was overshadowed a day later by the Intentional Walk Heard ‘Round The Eastern Seaboard.

It’s no secret that Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers crushes Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. Cole admitted as much during a media conference last week. The numbers — 13-for-39 with eight homers before this weekend — are loud. Still, the baseball world was perplexed when a cruising Cole, his team up 1-0 in the fourth with the bases empty, threw up the four fingers himself. A confused Devers made his way to first and, eventually, home as Boston plated three off Cole that inning. They scored four more an inning later.

The moment was more bizarre than it was impactful. Cole’s track record of dominance makes it difficult to call into question his competitive fire. This is a future Hall of Famer, not some random schlub. Yet Cole’s decision to sidestep Devers in such blatant fashion only strengthens the prevailing narrative that Devers owns Cole.

Luckily for the Yankees, it’s unlikely the two will face off again this season.