NEW YORK (AP) — Still 2 1/2 months shy of his 21st birthday and the legal drinking age, Jackson Holliday was given his own brand of bubbly in the jubilant Baltimore Orioles clubhouse: a bottle labeled “Baby Bird Bath Water” left in a bucket with his No. 7 jersey and a sign: “BABY’S FIRST CLINCHMAS 2024.”

“It’s a little bit more enjoyable for me,” the rookie said, clutching the non-alcoholic postprandial in Tuesday night’s celebration at Yankee Stadium while teammates chugged from the tubes of the Orioles Hydration Station. “I was hoping that I could get in on the fun.”

Baltimore is headed to the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since the 1990s, clinching no worse than a wild-card berth.

After left fielder Colton Cowser gloved Alex Verdugo’s flyout to seal a 5-3 win over the New York Yankees that brought Baltimore to the verge of the postseason, the Orioles filed into a visiting clubhouse draped with protective plastic curtains. Nine minutes later, while manager Brandon Hyde was answering postgame questions from media, Carlos Correa took a called third strike that finished Minnesota’s 4-1 loss to Miami, assuring the Orioles another trip to the postseason.

“Last year winning the American League East was just such an achievement for us and the expectations were much lower,” general manager Mike Elias said. “We came into this year with higher expectations. We made a lot of moves that kind of pushed some chips in for this year and then we just didn’t have the fortune that we would have hoped for. I think today is a sense of relief.”

Coming off their first division title since 2014, the Orioles started 23-11 and were 55-31 before play on July 3 but have gone 32-39 since, slowed by a series of injuries. The Orioles had topped the division alone for 62 days and opened as much as a three-game lead

Baltimore’s pitching staff lost Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells to elbow injuries that led to operations. Grayson Rodriguez hasn’t pitched since July 31 because of a lat problem.