NEW YORK — The champagne could go flat. The beer may start to smell.

The New York Yankees missed another chance for a rowdy clubhouse party with their error-riddled 9-7 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. A win would have given the Yankees the division crown.

Instead, they’ll have to wait at least another night while their magic number hangs at one.

The match was not as exciting as the score indicated. The Yankees staged a meaningless four-run rally in the ninth inning on a Juan Soto RBI single and a three-run homer by Aaron Judge.

A night after Gleyber Torres’ blunder wiped out a loss and the Yankees’ first missed opportunity to clinch the American League East, the main culprit was rookie Jasson Domínguez, who misplayed a catchable fly ball in left field with the bases loaded. and no outs in the first inning. The blunder allowed two runs to be scored.

Domínguez said he lost sight of the ball.

“I have no excuse,” he said. “That ball has to be caught 100 percent of the time.”

Jasson Dominguez continues to struggle in the outfield. 2-0 Orioles pic.twitter.com/h1gW45k8NM

— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 25, 2024

Co-star credit went to Marcus Stroman, who gave up six runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings. To be fair, Stroman found himself in an unenviable position as the starter at the emergency spot after Nestor Cortes (elbow flexor strain) suffered a sudden scratch.

Third baseman Jazz Chisholm also turned a double play and Anthony Volpe overthrew first base on an error, while manager Aaron Boone surely quietly wondered what happened to the club that won five of six on their West Coast trip.

“I just didn’t play very well at first and couldn’t really get back into it,” said Boone, who also called the Yankees’ play “sloppy.”

Of course, any consternation over the Yankees’ recent sloppiness will disappear if they win on Thursday and clinch their 21st division title.

It will be difficult. While the Yankees will start with reigning AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole (7-5, 3.67 ERA), Baltimore plans to counter with its ace Corbin Burnes (15-8, 2.95 ERA). With Tuesday’s win, the Orioles clinched a playoff spot, which the Yankees also did last week.

“It’s the game, man,” Boone said. “Nothing has been easy for us this year. You wouldn’t expect it to be like this now. But we kind of persevered and kind of worked through it.”

Judge said being one win away from a division clinch didn’t make things more difficult for the Yankees, who held just a half-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for the best record in the AL.

“They’re all tough,” Judge said. “We’re playing against a great team that has battled with us all year. It will never be easy.”

Domínguez’s miscue set the sloppy tone of the evening.

Stroman had loaded the bases with three singles in his first eight pitches of the game. Then Colton Cowser – battling Yankees catcher Austin Wells in the AL Rookie of the Year race – lofted a fly ball to the corner in left field.

Domínguez took a step over it and tried to reach behind his head to snare it. The ball fell, rolled off the wall and bounced toward the infield. When Domínguez found it, he hit cutter Volpe, who tried to make the home throw, but it was late. Two runs were scored, but Wells was able to throw out Anthony Santander as he moved to third base.

MLB’s Statcast said the fly ball had a 95 percent catch probability.

“That’s a challenging opportunity,” Boone said. “But one we also have to make.”

“He knows he should have made that play, but he’ll learn from it and get better,” Judge said.

It was the third misplay in about a week for Domínguez, who missed a fly ball in center field and then dropped another in left field in Seattle.

When the Yankees decided not to call up Domínguez when rosters were expanded on September 1, The Athletics spoke to an opponent evaluator, who pointed out that Domínguez had struggled defensively at Triple A.

Domínguez’s poor recent glovework could further cement Alex Verdugo as the team’s starting left fielder in the playoffs. Verdugo is much more stable in left field, and the Yankees should be more concerned about getting offense when it matters through righty, Soto, Giancarlo Stanton and Wells out of the middle of the lineup.

How will Boone decide who gets to start in left field?

“Just try to take it all in,” the manager said. “What gives you the best chance of winning on any given night? Of course, try to get a good look at Jasson because we know he’s capable out there. I feel like he’s been hitting some good shots lately. But we will continue to pay attention to it.”

Marcus Stroman, who gave up six runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings against the Orioles, was an emergency spot starter for Nestor Cortes. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)

Stroman, who had not thrown in eight days, made no excuses for his poor performance. He learned late Tuesday night that he would be Wednesday’s starter. He didn’t walk anyone, but struck out just one batter. Clayton Beeter followed him and gave up two earned runs. Cody Poteet threw 3 1/3 innings and gave up one run.

The Yankees had moved Stroman to the bullpen on September 13, and he had made just one relief appearance before Wednesday’s start.

“It’s frustrating,” he said of his performance, “but at the end of the day, I didn’t perform my job and I didn’t do my job to keep my team in position to win. … I have to make better pitches and have better command all night.”

The Yankees have four games left in the regular season. If they win one, they can relax knowing they’ve clinched the division. But on Wednesday the bubble remained corked.

(Top photo of Aaron Judge hitting a three-run home run in the ninth inning: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)