Clinching the AL East will have to wait, for now, as the Yankees fell to the Angels 3-2 on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. >> Box Score

Five takeaways from Wednesday's game...

1) CC Sabathia was pulled from the game with two outs in the top of the third inning, with two runners on. For potentially the final time, he walked off the mound at Yankee Stadium, as fans gave him a standing ovation and his teammates met him at the top of the dugout steps. Sabathia likely will not make the Yankees' postseason roster, meaning he may have pitched his final game in the Bronx after 11 seasons with the Bombers. Sabathia allowed two earned runs in 2.2 innings, striking out four.

2) Giancarlo Stanton was a welcomed addition back into the lineup. In his first at-bat back from the 60-day IL, Stanton roped a double into the left-center gap off of Angels starter Dillon Peters. Batting out of the five-hole, Stanton went 1-3 in six innings before being pulled from the game. His swing looked confident, as did his play in outfield, as he nearly threw out a runner at the plate in the third inning. If Stanton can stay healthy, he could make a huge impact for the Yankees in the postseason.

3) While Stanton was the Yankees' outfielder who drew the most attention heading into Wednesday, Aaron Judge also made an impact. With the Yankees trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the third, Judge launched a two-run shot to right-center for his 24th home run of the season, tying the game at two. Also of note, Judge came up short on a diving effort in right field later in the game, and after staying down for an extra moment, stayed in the game and seemed to be okay.

4) Adam Ottavino got himself into trouble in the sixth inning. After allowing a leadoff double to Michael Hermosillo, Matt Thais singled off of DJ LeMahieu to give the Angels runners at first and third. David Fletcher then bounced a ball to first, which Luke Voit fielded and looked to go home to get the out. Instead, Hermosillo bluffed heading home, and the runners were safe all around.

With the game still tied at 2-2 and the bases loaded, Albert Pujols bounced one back to Ottavino, and as he looked to get the force at the plate, his throw was nowhere close to home. The throwing error allowed the Angels to score the go-ahead run.

5) After Ottavino, the Yankees bullpen did a great job of keeping the game where it was. Tommy Kahnle, Chad Green, Zack Britton, and Luis Cessa combined for 3.2 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out eight.

Highlights

G IS BACK 💪💪💪

(via @Yankees) pic.twitter.com/3Wqhs8IyRM
- Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 18, 2019

CC leaves the Yankee Stadium mound for the last time 😢

(via @YESNetwork) pic.twitter.com/W8iKjb2SKb
- Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 18, 2019

What's next

The Yankees will finish their three-game set with the Angels on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. J.A. Happ (12-8, 5.07 ERA) will get the start for the Yankees against fellow lefty Andrew Heaney (4-5, 4.76 ERA).

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