“That’s the Cy Young,” Soto, whose RBI double made it 3-1 in the top of the 10th, said of Cole. “That’s the Cy Young going out there. Never doubt his ability and how great he is. It’s just great to see him do that. It’s been a little tough because we weren’t able to score runs to back him up, but we’re definitely excited about what he can do through the nine innings.”

Cole’s 99-pitch, two-hit run helped the Yankees move their magic number back to five games in the AL East, though the Orioles also won on Friday and thus trail by four games with eight games remaining.

“Just a great accomplishment,” Aaron Boone said of Cole. “Proud of him.”

After Cole threw his final pitch of the night (he said he felt he had enough left in him to return for the 10th inning, but was quickly stopped by Boone) the game was still tied at 1-1.

But the Yankees (90-64) quickly took the lead in the tenth inning.

Anthony Rizzo singled the ball, allowing automatic runner Jasson Dominguez to advance to third base, allowing him to score the go-ahead run on a passed ball.

It happened during an at-bat by Soto, who came in for Trent Grisham after starting the night on the bench with swelling and soreness in his left knee after hitting the ball against the right-field wall while catching a ball on Thursday in Seattle.

But Soto scored with an RBI double to left field for a 3-1 lead, after which he was replaced by a pinch-runner.

“Showman-esque,” ​​Cole said. “He loves the moment, man, he loves it.”

Anthony Volpe added an RBI single — his third hit and second RBI of the night — to make it 4-1 and give Luke Weaver some breathing room as he exited the game in the 10th inning.

The A’s (67-87) scored the automatic runner with a single by Weaver, but he retired the next three batters for his third save of the season.

While securing the division remains the biggest priority going into the final week of the season, ensuring Cole gets back on track and can pitch like himself again in October is also vital to the Yankees’ playoff chances.

Cole had been pitching well of late until last Saturday, when an intentional walk to his nemesis, Rafael Devers (with one out and no one on base in the fourth inning of a game the Yankees led 1-0), gave way to a bad hit.

That made the wait for the start on Friday a little longer, but Cole felt relieved after his dominant performance on Friday.

“I was excited to pitch today because I had a chance to do something positive for the team,” said Cole, who struck out seven. “We kept attacking even though it was a close game.”

Cole retired the first nine batters he faced with just 33 pitches before Lawrence Butler led off the fourth inning with a single past Rizzo.

Butler then stole second, allowing him to score on a single by Shea Langeliers through the left side with two outs and two strikes, making the lead 1-0.

But the Yankees came right back and tied the score in the fifth inning, rallying with two outs.

Rizzo got a complete base hit and then advanced to third on a single by Grisham, who came in for Soto late in the game, before Volpe went the other way for a single that tied the score at 1-1.