Before the Yankees popped champagne, Aaron Judge squirted another ball into orbit.

The Yankees captain hit his 58th home run of the season on Thursday night, setting a career high with a home run in the fifth straight game en route to a 10-1 victory over the Orioles that clinched the AL East in the Bronx.

“He’s still playing video games and we’re out there working,” Giancarlo Stanton said. “Incredible to see.”

Judge’s two-run pitch gave the Yankees a 9-0 lead in the seventh inning and sent the crowd into a frenzy, with chants of “MVP” raining down on him.

“It’s just Aaron Judge – it’s greatness right in front of us,” manager Aaron Boone said.

With the division secured, Judge indicated he will likely take a day off this weekend during the final series of the regular season – which would be his first since June 19.

He may not be able to match the AL-record 62 home runs he hit in 2022 by Sunday’s regular-season finale, with a 16-game losing streak earlier this month likely cost him, but he has himself suddenly brought within striking distance of a late climb.

And his season could still end up being better than his first MVP campaign in 2022.

“We’re really watching a historically great player now, (with) what we’re seeing,” Boone said. “His strength obviously speaks for itself, but he takes great pride in being a versatile batsman. Like many great players in any sport, he is obsessed with getting a little better at baseball year after year. “I don’t want to exaggerate and say he’s reached a new level since he hit 62 home runs and won the MVP. I don’t know if it’s a different level, but is he increasingly a better hitter now than he was back then? I think the answer is “yes.”

Judge finished Thursday batting .325 with a 1.169 OPS and 144 RBIs (compared to hitting .311 with a 1.111 OPS and 131 RBIs in 2022).

Unless Bobby Witt Jr. (hitting .332) hits a few no-hitters to end the season, Judge will likely miss the Triple Crown, but he still appears to be on track for his second AL MVP.

Thursday’s home run gave Judge 144 RBIs this season, the most of any player since Ryan Howard’s 146 in 2008.

Boone said the Yankees would “love” to secure the AL’s best record – their magic number for that is two, with a one-game lead over the Guardians – but indicated he would likely give some of his workhorses a day off this weekend will get against the pirates.

The Yankees placed Mark Leiter Jr. on the paternity list Thursday and recalled reliever Scott Effross from Triple-A.

After a rocky start to his Yankees tenure following a trade from the Cubs at the deadline, Leiter had gone scoreless three straight times – albeit on lower-leverage pitches – while yielding six hits in 3 ⅔ innings.

Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes, the potential NL Rookie of the Year, is scheduled to make his final start of the season Saturday at Yankee Stadium, facing AL Rookie of the Year candidate Luis Gil.