Yankees win 1st AL East title since 2012

The chase for 28 is officially on.

The New York Yankees are American League East champions for the first time since 2012 thanks to a 9-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.

After missing a chance to clinch on Wednesday, the Yankees made sure the 19th division crown in franchise history wouldn't slip through their fingers again. DJ LeMahieu put the game away with a three-run homer in the second inning, one of four on the night for the home side.

Masahiro Tanaka dominated the Angels for seven solid innings, and Aroldis Chapman struck out Albert Pujols in the ninth to start the celebration in the Bronx.

"This was a big goal of ours," veteran starter CC Sabathia said inside a jubilant Yankees clubhouse. "We were tired of playing in that wild-card game."

New York has now made the playoffs in four of its last five campaigns, including the last three straight. This will mark the team's 55th postseason appearance in 116 years.

Thursday's win was also the Yankees' 100th of the season. It's the 21st time the Yankees have won at least 100 games - by far the most in history - and the sixth time they've done it in at least two straight seasons.

Aaron Boone becomes the first skipper in MLB history to win at least 100 games in each of his first two managerial seasons, according to James Smyth of YES Network.

The Yankees' march to this division title might go down as one of the more unlikely seasons in their storied history. They were hit by a seemingly never-ending barrage of injuries dating back to spring training, and placed a record 30 different players on the injured list over the course of the year.

In spite of all that, New York reached 100 wins in dominating fashion. The Yankees have held at least a share of first place since May 19 and ascended to the top of the standings for good on June 13. They've remained at least six games ahead of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays since early July.

At 100-54, the Yankees sit just a few percentage points behind the Houston Astros - who collected their 100th win on Wednesday - for the best record in baseball and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Houston has nine games remaining, while the Yankees have just eight.