AL East

The New York Yankees may have tipped their hand about which team they view as a bigger obstacle in their quest to make the playoffs as an American League wild card. 

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Yankees elected to play the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in a potential tiebreaker game. 

Passan noted the Yankees had the option to play the Red Sox in Boston or Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre if there is a four-way tie for the two wild-card spots. 

There are other potential factors that may have contributed to the Yankees' decision. 

Per Rob Gillies of the Associated Press, unvaccinated players and staff members for every team traveling into Canada require an exemption from the Canadian government. There are additional health and safety protocols that players and staffers must follow if they haven't received a COVID-19 vaccination. 

The Yankees did reach MLB's required 85 percent vaccination threshold for Tier 1 individuals—including players, coaches and staffers—very early in the season, enabling them to operate under relaxed protocols. 

Both the Red Sox and Blue Jays had winning records against the Yankees during the regular season. Boston won 10 of 19 games against its rival. The Blue Jays went 11-8 in 19 games versus the Bronx Bombers. 

The bulk of Boston's success against the Yankees came in the first half. They swept the first two series of the year but have since lost nine of their past 13 meetings. The Yankees swept a three-game series at Fenway from Sept. 24-26. 

New York did take two out of three from the Blue Jays in Toronto from Sept. 28-30. The Blue Jays swept a four-game series at Yankee Stadium in early September when New York was in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. 

This entire scenario could be moot depending on the results of Sunday's games. The Yankees and Red Sox currently occupy the top two wild-card spots with identical 91-70 records. 

If both teams win, the Red Sox will host the Yankees in the AL Wild Card Game on Tuesday. If either club loses Sunday and the Blue Jays or Seattle Mariners win, a tiebreaker will be played Monday to determine the second wild card. 

There's also the possibility the Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays and Mariners all end up tied. In that scenario, two tiebreaker matchups would be played, with the winners getting the wild-card spots.   

The New York Yankees had a chance to clinch a playoff spot Saturday, but it wasn't meant to be.

The Yankees suffered a demoralizing 12-2 loss at home against the American League East champion Tampa Bay Rays.

"Just a bad day for us, and we've got to get over it quickly," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters.

The Yankees have no time to dwell on Saturday's loss with the season finale in less than 24 hours. A win Sunday will guarantee a wild-card berth, and a loss would lead to a tiebreaker game Monday.

After losing the first two games of the series against the Rays, the Yankees no longer control their own destiny and need the Boston Red Sox to lose in order to host the AL Wild Card Game.

"We've got to win. It's as simple as that," veteran outfielder Brett Gardner said. "Here we are going into Game 162 not knowing what the future is.

"It's not ideal. But it's nice knowing that we still have a chance."

Starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery allowed a career-worst seven earned runs and didn't make it out of the third inning. Brandon Lowe hit three home runs for the Rays, including a pair of three-run blasts off Montgomery.

Jameson Taillon is set to take the mound for New York on Sunday. He aggravated an ankle injury in his last start Tuesday, but he threw a bullpen session Friday and was deemed ready to go.

The Yankees have been a streaky team all season. They entered the series against the Rays having won eight of their previous nine games. These two losses against a division rival came at an unfortunate time, but it makes for a compelling end to the season.

"The way the season has gone, it kind of makes sense that it would come down to the very last day," Gardner said. "Seems about right."     

New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu will attempt to play through a sports hernia for the remainder of this season.

According to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said LeMahieu received an injection Friday with the hope that he can play in the regular-season finale Sunday. Boone also said the injury will require offseason surgery.

LeMahieu is in his third season with the Yankees and first of his six-year, $90 million deal signed in January.

It kept the versatile player in the location where he has had the most success in his career.

The 33-year-old had two All-Star selections and three Gold Glove awards in seven seasons with the Colorado Rockies. He was even better after joining the Yankees in 2019, though, winning two Silver Slugger awards while finishing in the top five of MVP voting in each of his first two seasons.

After hitting .327 in 2019, LeMahieu won the AL batting title with a .364 average in 2020. Adding the ability to play any base, he is a valuable commodity for any baseball team.

He remains an impact player in 2021, but his numbers have taken a fairly significant hit compared to the past two seasons.

In 150 games in 2021, LeMahieu is slashing .268/.349/.362 with 10 homers, 57 RBI and 84 runs scored. His .268 batting average is his lowest since hitting .267 in 2014, although his 73 walks are a career high.

LeMahieu has played all over the infield during his tenure with the Yankees, but he has primarily been a third baseman as of late.

Boone shuffled the infield alignment by moving Gleyber Torres from shortstop to second, Gio Urshela from third to short and LeMahieu from second to third.

With LeMahieu out on Friday, Rougned Odor started at third base in the 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees hold a one-game lead over the Boston Red Sox for the first wild-card spot in the American League and a two-game lead over both the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners with two regular-season games to go.

The screws are tightening in the American League Wild Card race heading into the final two days of the regular season. 

After their 4-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night at Nationals Park, the Boston Red Sox have moved within one game of the New York Yankees for the top spot. 

The Yankees lost 4-3 at home to the Tampa Bay Rays, who have already clinched the AL East title. 

The Toronto Blue Jays were able to stay within one game of the Red Sox thanks to their 6-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre. 

The Seattle Mariners are hosting the Los Angeles Angels in their final series of the regular season. The first game got underway at 10:10 p.m. ET. The Mariners will remain tied with the Red Sox in the second wild-card position with a win tonight. 

Updated AL Wild Card Standings

1. New York Yankees (91-69)

2. Boston Red Sox (90-70; 1 GB)

3. Seattle Mariners (89-70; 1.5 GB)

4. Toronto Blue Jays (89-71; 1 GB of No. 2 WC)

Coming into Friday's games, the Yankees had an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth. They would have needed to defeat the Rays and see a loss by either the Red Sox or Mariners. 

Even though the Red Sox have one of the easiest matchups of the weekend among the contenders, they were coming off five losses in their past six games, including two of three to the Orioles earlier this week. 

Boston's offense got off to a slow start against Nationals starter Josh Rogers before breaking through with four runs in the top of the sixth. Hunter Renfroe and Bobby Dalbec hit back-to-back homers to provide all of the scoring for the Red Sox. 

In the Bronx, the Rays and Yankees looked like they were going to play a high-scoring affair after trading runs in the first inning and Tampa added a run in the top of the second. 

Tampa's pitching staff did a fantastic job of limiting the Yankees for most of the game after the first. The Bronx Bombers didn't get a runner into scoring position over the next seven innings. 

New York did bring the go-ahead run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. Joey Gallo and Brett Gardner drove in runs with RBI singles. Gary Sanchez, who was pinch-hitting for Kyle Higashioka with runners on first and second, went down swinging for the second out. 

Rays closer Andrew Kittredge got Rougned Odor to strike out to end the game. 

The Blue Jays looked like they were going to cruise to victory after taking a 6-0 lead going into the top of the seventh. Danny Jansen and Corey Dickerson each hit homers in the game. 

Baltimore was able to make things interesting with four runs in the top of the eighth. Kelvin Gutierrez and Pat Valaika homered, and Trey Mancini drove in a run with an RBI single. Jordan Romano closed out the contest with a perfect ninth inning. 

Looking ahead to Saturday's games, the Yankees will send Jordan Montgomery to the mound against Rays rookie Shane Baz at 1:05 p.m. ET. The Orioles have ace John Means going against Toronto rookie Alek Manoah at 3:07 p.m. 

The Red Sox have yet to name a starter for their game against the Nationals at 4:05 p.m. The Mariners will have the luxury of knowing where everyone stands when their showdown with the Angels starts at 9:10. 

The New York Yankees recorded their ninth consecutive game with four runs or more Thursday, knocking off Toronto and retaining the lead in a tight AL Wild Card race over Boston and Seattle. The Bronx Bombers lit up the scoreboard as Aaron Judge went 2-3, including a 455-foot homer (his 38th of the season), on the way to a 6-2 drubbing of the Blue Jays. 

The win kept them atop the hunt for the top wild-card spot in the AL. One more win this weekend eliminates the Blue Jays, two and they host the wild-card game.

Though it is a long shot and would require the team to fold under pressure over the weekend, the Yankees can still miss out on the postseason altogether if they are swept and both the Red Sox and Mariners sweep their weekend series.

The Yankees play a tough Tampa Bay Rays club that has already wrapped up the AL East division, while the Red Sox head to Washington to play the Nationals, the Mariners play the Angels, and the Blue Jays battle an Orioles squad with its eyes on spoiling postseason ambitions.

"We've Still Got a Lot of Work to Do"

Winning five-out-of-six games against division foes Toronto and Boston and strengthening its lead in the wild-card race is not enough for Judge, who spoke to the media following Thursday's win: "The job's not finished. We've got to keep going. Even if we can clinch tomorrow, you've still got two more at home [against the Rays], and we want that home-field advantage." 

Yankees manager Aaron Boone echoed that sentiment: "To go 5-1 against two really good clubs, it finishes off a really nice trip. We're just getting started. We've got more to do."

The first bit of work Judge referred to starts Friday with a three-game stretch against the division-leading Rays, who have already locked down AL home-field advantage and will be looking to stay healthy ahead of the postseason.

Still, they value the postseason feel a late series with the Yankees present, as Rays manager Kevin Cash said after Thursday's game against Houston:

"At the end of the day, we very well could be seeing the Yankees in four or five days after that. So you want to make the most of it, and anytime you go into an environment like that, they've got great fans, they're supportive, and it's coming down to the wire. So [I] expect that it should be a fun three days."

Red Sox, Mariners Scenarios

If both Boston and Seattle go 3-0 in their weekend series, a tiebreaker would be held Monday to determine the second wild-card team behind New York. That's the easy part. 

If Seattle wins all three, and Boston goes 2-1, the Mariners would secure the second spot. And vice versa. The team with the most wins will take the second spot, barring an aforementioned tie and a one-game playoff. 

The Blue Jays are a single game behind both Seattle and Boston with a series against Baltimore on the horizon. A slip-up from either of those teams could well mean Vlad Guerrero Jr. and his club jump them for a spot in the championship tourney.

Barring a collapse of epic proportions that would call into question New York's ability to do anything in the postseason once it got there anyway, it feels like this weekend's slate of games will determine who heads to the Bronx to battle the Yanks in the wild-card game.  

The New York Yankees gained some separation in the American League wild-card race, although three other teams remain close after an eventful Thursday night of baseball.

The Yankees came from behind against the Toronto Blue Jays for a 6-2 win over the fellow contenders, while the Boston Red Sox suffered a disappointing 6-2 loss to the last-place Baltimore Orioles. It meant the Seattle Mariners were one of the biggest winners of the night despite not playing.

New York now holds a two-game lead over the competition with three games remaining, while Boston and Seattle are tied for the second spot. Toronto remains one game out of playoff position.

The Blue Jays were seemingly in good shape early in the night with a 2-1 lead and Cy Young contender Robbie Ray on the mound. That was until a brutal sixth inning knocked him out of the game and changed the outlook of the postseason race.

The Yankees hit three home runs as part of a four-run inning to take control of the game:

Aaron Judge hit a home run in the middle of that run, continuing what was already an impressive game for the outfielder:

It was all the Yankees bullpen needed to close out the win as four pitchers combined for 4.1 scoreless innings with just three hits allowed. 

New York has now won five of the last six games to move to the brink of a postseason spot.

The other big game of the day featured only one team still trying to reach the playoffs, but it was the Orioles that came out on top against the Red Sox.

Ryan Mountcastle had the big hit with a three-run shot to take the lead in the third inning:

Another rookie, Tyler Nevin, expanded the lead for Baltimore with a two-RBI single in the sixth inning.

The Red Sox offense couldn't keep up, scoring just one run against starter Alexander Wells in six innings. The left-hander entered the day with a 7.61 ERA but had the best start of his career against Boston.

It led to the fifth loss in five games for the Red Sox, which are suddenly in a dangerous spot in the standings after an impressive season. The squad will have to turn things around over the weekend with a road series against the Washington Nationals. The Mariners, meanwhile, will look to keep pace while traveling to face the Los Angeles Angels. 

The Yankees will close their season with a three-game series at home against the Tampa Bay Rays and can clinch a playoff spot as soon as Friday. The Blue Jays have the easiest matchup at home against the Orioles, but the last-place team has shown it can play the role of spoiler.   

The road to the World Series in the American League runs through Tampa Bay.

The Tampa Bay Rays clinched the No. 1 seed in the AL playoffs and home-field advantage with a 7-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday. Drew Rasmussen allowed a single hit in five shutout innings, while Brandon Lowe and Ji-Man Choi spearheaded the offensive effort with home runs.

With home-field advantage now in their back pocket, the Rays will face the winner of the single-elimination AL Wild Card Game. They also have the chance to set their rotation and capitalize on the advantage having the No. 1 seed provides.

After all, the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays are all battling for the two wild-card spots.

Whichever teams land those spots will surely rely on a key pitcher in the single-elimination game and start somewhat behind when facing the Rays in the Division Series.

While winning enough in the regular season to have home-field advantage is impressive, Tampa Bay is in championship-or-bust mode after coming so close to winning the World Series last year. It reached the Fall Classic, just to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in heart-breaking fashion in Game 6.

It seemed as if the Rays were going to force a decisive Game 7 with Blake Snell cruising in that contest, but manager Kevin Cash removed the southpaw after just 5.1 innings and 73 pitches. The bullpen was unable to keep the Dodgers off the board and lost the chance at a World Series title.

To the Rays' credit, they didn't let last year's disappointment derail this season.

They used their typical formula of unheralded stars and won an American League East division loaded with contenders with the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays. All three of those teams feature household names in their lineup but could not keep pace with the balanced division winners.

Look for Lowe, Nelson Cruz, Joey Wendle, Randy Arozarena, Mike Zunino, Kevin Kiermaier and others to give opposing pitchers fits throughout the postseason, especially playing in front of the home fans.

Tampa Bay was two wins away from a championship last season. It has the talent to take the next step this time around and capture the franchise's first World Series crown.

Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays wasn't the only bad news for the New York Yankees.

Manager Aaron Boone told reporters slugger Joey Gallo was undergoing an X-ray after he was hit by a pitch on the hand. He was unable to bat in the final inning of the loss, which is why Gary Sanchez pinch hit.

"We'll see what we have overnight," Boone said of Gallo while also noting Luke Voit was undergoing treatment but should be all right.

Gallo started the game in left field and went 0-for-2 with a run scored. Voit struck out in his pinch-hit appearance in the seventh inning and appeared to have somewhat of a limp after he ran to first base on a dropped third strike, although he was ruled out because there was already a runner on first before the pitch.

Losing Gallo at any time of year would be less than ideal, but the Bronx Bombers surely don't want to be without him with the postseason around the corner.

They are one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox for the first American League Wild Card spot and two games ahead of the Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. They play Toronto one more time Thursday before finishing the regular season with a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays.

New York hasn't clinched a playoff spot yet and will be facing a single-elimination wild-card matchup even if it does.

Its lineup is far more dangerous with Gallo in the middle of it. He has 13 home runs and 21 RBI in 54 games for the Yankees since they acquired him from the Texas Rangers via trade and has 38 long balls on the entire season between the two teams.

There are few better power hitters in the league than the 27-year-old, and he could alter the outcome of a playoff game with a single swing.

New York could rotate a combination of Giancarlo Stanton, Brett Gardner and Tyler Wade in left field if Gallo is sidelined.

Marcus Semien made history Wednesday.

The Toronto Blue Jays star hit his 44th home run of the year, setting the MLB single-season mark for a second baseman:

Semien, 31, is having a career year, already setting career highs in homers, RBI (101) and stolen bases (15).

He was also named as an All-Star for the first time in his career, though he was something of a snub in the 2019 season (33 homers, 92 RBI, 123 runs, .892 OPS) after he finished third in the MVP voting that year but wasn't an ASG selection.

His production has been a huge reason the Blue Jays remain in the hunt for a playoff berth, currently just a game back of the Boston Red Sox for the final wild-card spot in the American League.

Semien hasn't taken a day off, either, appearing in all 158 games for the Blue Jays this season.

"I could tell that's just what he wants, it's what he does. He's here to play every game," Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told Yahoo Sports' Hannah Keyser. "He doesn't need a day off, which I love guys like that. But then when you go through a season you figure, 'Man, you're gonna have to have a day off sometime.'"

Not Semien, who also played the full 162 in 2019.

"My focus is actually on playing till the last game of the World Series," he told Keyser. "That would be an extra, I don't know how many games. You put your mind towards that date instead of the end of the season."

At this rate, he might just bash the Blue Jays into the postseason himself.