September 25, 1996: Yankees clinch AL East title, sweep doubleheader against Brewers

The Yankees can finally relax now.

After defeating the Brewers 19-2 this evening in the first part of a doubleheader, New York clinched the AL East division title. They also won game two, 6-2.

In game one, David Cone started and six innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He was backed by an offense that exploded for 19 runs, including a 10 run outburst in the second inning. By the time Cone took the mound in the top of the third, the Yankees had a 14-1 lead. Tino Martinez drove in five runs - four of which came on a grand slam in the first inning. Bernie Williams added three RBI, Ruben Rivera, Darryl Strawberry and Derek Jeter each collected two, and Joe Girardi, Luis Sojo and Tim Raines added one each.

After Brewers starter Tim Van Egmond  - who lasted just 1.1 innings while giving up eight runs (seven earned) on four hits, Ramon Garcia came on and was torched for nine runs on 12 hits over four innings. Cone gave way to David Weathers and Jeff Nelson, who induced a pop fly off the bat of Fernando Vina to Bernie Williams in center to clinch the division.

Game two:

Joe Torre elected to go with a makeshift lineup in game two, giving most of his regulars the night off after clinching the division title. However, the Yankees were still able to come away with the win over the lowly Brewers, defeating them by a score of 6-2. Kenny Rogers started and went 5.2 innings, giving up two runs. Charlie Hayes and Darryl Strawberry lead the offense by driving in two runs each.