Yankees slug their way to MLB records in preparation for wild card showdown

The Bronx Bombers lived up to their nickname by hitting more big numbers on the weekend.

Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton connected as the playoff-bound New York Yankees set the MLB record for most home runs in a season, beating the Boston Red Sox 8-5 on Saturday for their 100th of the season.

“I’m happy for them. They work really hard at their craft, and it’s a result of a lot of people having success,” manager Aaron Boone said.

After slugging four homers in Friday night’s 11-6 win over Boston, the Yankees entered the game tied with the 1997 Seattle Mariners — whose lineup included Ken Griffey Jr, Alex Rodriguez, Jay Buhner and Edgar Martinez — with 264 round-trippers.

Torres hit a two-run drive in the fourth inning that gave the Yankees the outright record, and Stanton added to it with his 38th of the season in the seventh.

“A lot of cool things happened for our team today, so it was a good day,” said Stanton, who also ripped a single to reach 100 RBIs in his first season with New York.

The Yankees will face the Oakland Athletics in the American League wild card game on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. The winner will play the Red Sox in the best-of-five AL Divisional Series.

New York also became the first team in MLB history to get at least 20 home runs from all nine spots in the batting order.

“I didn’t even know that until before the game, when I was told during my meeting with the broadcast team,” Boone said.

“Actually, when Gleyber hit it, I was sharing that information with the guys on the bench because I felt like I had this new-found knowledge.”

The Yankees improved to 100-61, but the win still left them six games behind the Red Sox, who have set a franchise record for victories.

This marks the 10th time in MLB history that a team has won at least 100 games and not finished first. Since the start of division play in 1969, the only clubs that didn’t wind up on top despite triple-digits wins were Oakland in 2001, San Francisco in 1993 and Baltimore in 1980.

The Yankees joined Boston and Houston to win 100 or more this season, making the AL the first league to have a trio of 100-win teams in the same season.

New York reached 100 wins for the 20th time in franchise history and first since going 103-59 in 2009, when the Yankees went on to win their most recent World Series title.

Boston manager Alex Cora, who has been shuffling his lineup and resting players for the playoffs, wasn’t overly concerned after the loss.

“We’re going to be 0-0 starting the playoffs. We’re still going to have four days off,” Cora said.

“It’s not that we’re going through the motions. We’re taking care of our players and making sure they get what they need. We’ll be ready for October.”

Lance Lynn (10-10) got the win with three innings of relief, holding Boston to one run on two hits. Aroldis Chapman shut down Boston’s ninth-inning rally for his 32nd save.

Eduardo Rodriguez (12-5) pitched the third and fourth for Boston and took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits.

After Greg Bird’s RBI double put New York up 2-1 in the fourth, Torres hit a 1-1 pitch from Rodriguez out to right, sailing over the head of Blake Swihart at the bullpen wall and giving the Yankees the record-breaking 265th homer.

Miguel Andujar drove in two runs on a double during New York’s three-run fifth and Stanton led off the seventh with a homer off Steven Wright.

Back atcha!

Stanton pushed the homer record to 266 with a drive to left field, then got a major surprise.

A strong-armed fan sitting in the seats above the Green Monster threw the souvenir back on the field, and the ball bounced into Stanton as he rounded second base.

Boston fans cheered when the fan let loose, and Stanton smiled when the throw reached him on a bounce. The Yankee slugger then gave a quick salute to the man in the stands.

“I wouldn’t have thought it got to me that fast with a fan throwing it. I’ve never seen that happen before,” Stanton said.

Rookie record

“A lot of cool things happened for our team today, so it was a good day.”

Giancarlo Stanton, after the New York Yankees won their 100th game and broke the all-time record for home runs in a season

The home run record wasn’t the only one to fall. Andujar hit two doubles and increased his total to 46, the most by a Yankees rookie since Joe DiMaggio hit 44 in 1936.

Judge rested

Right fielder Aaron Judge, whose eighth-inning homer Friday night tied the Yankees with the Mariners’ record, was out of the lineup after hitting crashing into the wall while making a catch.

Boone said the Yankees were being cautious with Judge, who returned from the disabled list Sept 14 with a wrist fracture.

“I think it’s a good day to get him down, as we’ve been going pretty hard with him, too,” Boone said.