Gerrit Cole was barely recognizable. Cap backwards, glasses down, his face covered in a gloss of champagne as bottles splashed around him.

But on the mound a few hours earlier Thursday night, there was no mistaking the pinstripe assassin who dismantled the Orioles in a 10-1 divisional victory before a raucous crowd of 42,022 in the Bronx.

Cole’s season-long journey from reigning Cy Young champion to rehabilitating ace to No. 1 shutdown starter once again reflected the Yankees’ return to the top of the AL East, so it was only fitting that he knocked out the Orioles – and another in Life called search in October for the ever-elusive No. 28. Aaron Judge delivered home run No. 58, his fifth in five games, and Giancarlo Stanton also went deep, adding four RBIs, but Cole set the tone, when October was just around the corner.

“Really, this is just a small taste of his brilliance,” manager Aaron Boone said. “After losing two tough games (against Baltimore), you want to do this, so there was some pressure today. And when you look back at Gerrit’s Yankee career, it was obviously outstanding. But he had several moments of truth, moments of smaller crossroads, and he answered the bell, showed that he is such a great player, and it was even more excellence tonight.”

Cole only allowed two hits over 6 2⁄3 scoreless innings — two singles — struck out five and the Orioles didn’t even get to second base. However, any lingering concerns that Cole might eventually return to his Cy Young self dissipated some time ago, and the Yankees had the right man for the job by sending him to Thursday’s deciding game. Cole was surgically successful, giving up the first eight in a row before James McCann’s walk in the third inning, and he didn’t give up his first hit until a two-out single by Ramon Urias in the fifth inning.

“You just feel alive,” Cole said. “It’s the best feeling. There is a lot at stake. The juices are flowing. You’re out there just trying to be yourself.”

The two defining moments of Cole’s bravura performance? One came with two outs in the sixth when Cole thought he had struck out Anthony Santander with a perfectly-pointed knuckle curve at the top of the strike zone. Both Cole and catcher Austin Wells began to stalk away, but then they made an upset reversal. But when Cole got the ball again, he fired a 98 mph fastball right past the swinging Santander and then stared at umpire David Rackley the entire way to the dugout.

This is the Cole the Yankees need for this playoff run, and there’s every reason to believe he’s on for the duration with a 2.67 ERA in his last 13 starts (80 Ks in 77). 2⁄3 innings). The other highlight of Thursday for Cole was seeing the Yankees star receive the stadium salute he so richly deserved. When Boone came out to pick him up in the seventh, Cole walked off to the loudest standing ovation of the night, giving fans his cap after crossing the first base line.

“There have been some ups and downs this year, but you just try to keep going, give ourselves a chance to win and not make it bigger than it is,” Cole said. “But tonight was fun. We had a chance to win the division and it was special to be out there.”

There was also a stadium full of frustrations to release and exorcise the demons of 2023. A year ago, at this point, the Yankees were struggling to stay above .500 (82-80) in the final days of the season, failing to make the playoffs for just the fourth time since the 2009 World Series crown.

There were plenty more opportunities to celebrate, and yes, another home run from Judge, whose three-run blast in the sixth, a 394-foot rocket, provided a loud exclamation point on the night. As Judge circled the bases, the familiar chants of “MVP” rang out from the upper decks, and at that rate, who would bet against him hitting 60?

By the end of the night, the Orioles barely existed. Stanton had beaten them before, first with a party-starting solo home run in the second inning and then with a base-clearing double in the sixth. Even Alex Verdugo — whose battle in left field with Jason Dominguez has been a hot topic since the prospect’s promotion — hit his second home run of the month deep in the eighth.

But on Thursday night, Cole had the baseball back in his right hand and, as always, the fate of the Yankees. Already in March there were doubts as to whether this would ever be the case again. Now with leader Cole at the helm, the Yankees couldn’t be better prepared for October.

“I think we were optimistic that he would get back to that level, but it was still a little uncertain,” Boone said. “But I think there was optimism throughout that it was becoming a good destination.”

At this point, the Yankees are now AL East champions once again and are poised for a strong run in October.

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a Baseball Hall of Fame voter and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.