Aaron Judge, Yankees bludgeon Guardians in potential playoff preview at Yankee Stadium

NEW YORK — All Gavin Williams could do was grimace and ask for a new baseball.

The old one had just become a souvenir. From the right hand of the Guardians hurler to the Yankee Stadium bleachers. Made possible, once again, by the thundering bat of Aaron Judge.

The New York supernova homered on Thursday afternoon, a near-daily ritual at this point. His Yankees took the finale and the series from the AL Central-leading Guardians. That solo shot from Judge, his 48th, started the scoring in the fourth. An inning later, Giancarlo Stanton cranked a two-out, three-run laser to break the game apart. Gerrit Cole delivered a pitch-to-contact gem, allowing just one hit across six scoreless frames; it was the 150th win of his masterful career. The ace wasn’t at his whiff-inducing best, but considering the nature of his injury-stunted season, it was an encouraging afternoon.

Asked by a reporter how he would pitch to his world-beating teammate, Cole was predictably coy after the game.

“I think [that] depends on the score, but I'm certainly not gonna lay out a game plan for you,” the Yankees ace said with a laugh.

The 6-0 Yankees victory was, in other words, exactly how this matchup was supposed to go. One team has a dude on pace for 61 home runs with a .722 slugging percentage; the other does not. One has a stable of high-priced veteran hurlers; the other is patching together a rotation with youngsters and journeymen. The Yankees, with their $302 million payroll and superstar-studded roster, are imposing. The Guardians, with their $101 million payroll, are best described as pesky, ferocious, exhausting to play against.

Yet entering this American League showdown, the two teams were separated by just a half-game. Cleveland surged into contention early in the spring behind an aggressive, high-contact offense and a magnificently deep bullpen. The Yankees endured a lengthy midsummer swoon as their non-superstar hitters cooled. But while their records remain in the same ballpark, the final two games of this series served as a reminder that the talent gap between these two playoff teams is obvious and unavoidable.

That doesn’t necessarily mean, come a potential October matchup, that the Yankees would stroll past the Guardians — or any other American League foe, for that matter. Game 1 of this series showcased how Cleveland’s relentless style of play can grind down talented teams. But the continued dominance of superstars such as Judge and Cole reinforces the supersonic expectations that, rightfully, follow this pinstriped circus like a cartoon rain cloud.

Judge, the Yankees captain in the second year of his massive contract, is living above and beyond the hype. He is once more on pace to crank 61 home runs, a feat he accomplished two seasons ago, when he broke Roger Maris’ American League record and hit 62.

This version of Judge might be even better. His OPS is at 1.191. He’s walking more and striking out less, and somehow, his batting average is .334. Judge is not just good; he’s historic. Another September of national TV cut-ins and references to bygone greats would be in store if Judge weren’t chasing his own record.

“I guess we're on the ‘on pace’ portion of the season,” manager Aaron Boone quipped when asked about Judge’s impressive season. “Look, anything's possible with him.”

“I’ve felt like this all year,” Judge told reporters postgame, in response to a question about whether he feels noticeably different when he’s on a home run heater. “I'm just trying to do the same thing, be consistent, repeat my swing, not trying to think too much of it, and if they don't give me pitches, I just pass the baton.”

The Yankees' horrid run of play in July and August showed what happens when the other non-Juan Soto hitters let that baton drop to the turf. Hero ball doesn’t work on the diamond. Judge can do only so much. This team will shine or sink depending on how the rest of the lineup, the pitching staff and the cobbled-together bullpen perform in the postseason.

But those high-pressure October moments are still a ways off, even though the weather in New York has begun to cool. After Thursday’s victory, a number of the Yankees returned to the field with their families for a Paw Patrol-themed block party.

Episodes of the kids TV show streamed on the enormous center-field Jumbotron. A Mister Softee ice cream truck, parked on the warning track, doled out scoops. Millionaire ballplayers and their significant others chased high-energy toddlers across the outfield expanse. There was a bouncy house as well as a balloon artist crafting baseball-themed schlock.

Eventually, Judge emerged. After a while, somebody handed the Yankees star a baseball-bat-shaped balloon. He carried it around for a few minutes, until Alex Verdugo’s 3-year-old son zipped across the grass to say hi, and the slugger offered up the tchotchke.

Another souvenir from the hands of Aaron Judge.