Yankees Postseason Tracker: New York Continues to Keep Pace With Tampa Bay in AL East Race

The Yanks are in striking distance of the Rays for the AL East crown.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone and his club have a chance to win the division if they handle their business. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After taking two of three games from the Angels, which included a 6-3 win in extra innings on Wednesday night, the Yankees currently sit at 80-60 with 22 games left in the regular season.

Throughout September, every win and loss will have a tremendous impact on the Yankees' pursuit of the American League East crown and holding onto the top spot in the AL Wild Card Race, if the Rays hold on.

Looking at the road ahead for the Bronx Bombers, they will wrap up their six-game road trip this weekend against the Padres (three games). Then the Yankees will return home next week for six games against the Rockies and Mets, which should be winnable for New York.

After that, the Yankees will hit the road one more time this season, later this month, facing the Twins (three games) and the Diamondbacks (three games), before they return home to end the 2026 campaign, which will include a pivotal four-game set at Yankee Stadium against the Rays, which could determine the division.

That said, it’s not an arduous challenge for manager Aaron Boone’s crew, but they must take care of business against the teams they should. Below, we’ll take a look at the latest AL East and wild-card standings as the Yankees aren’t back in action until Friday night.

Where do the Yankees stand in the AL East race?

Following their series win on Wednesday night in Anaheim and the Rays losing at home to the Mets, the Yankees find themselves 3.5 games out of first place in the AL East.

This is a good spot to be in if you’re the Yankees, as the goal is to stay at arm's length from Tampa Bay until they face off later this month. Tampa Bay is going on the road for the next seven games to play the Rangers (four games) and the Braves (three games).

Neither series will be easy for the Rays, as the Rangers are fighting to win the AL West, while the Braves are trying to get the No. 1 seed in the National League and keep the Phillies at bay.

According to FanGraphs, the Yankees have a 21.3% chance of winning the division, the same percentage as clinching a first-round bye. That said, the Yankees' goal should be to win the No. 1 seed, especially with how much they’ve leaned on the starting rotation and bullpen over these last few weeks to get to the finish line.

Where do the Yankees stand in the AL Wild Card race?

New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler has been outstanding this season and will be key in helping this team lock up their playoff position. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As for the AL Wild Card race, the Yankees hold the top spot. They’re currently 9.5 games ahead of the Guardians, who are holding on to the third spot. New York is also five games ahead of the Red Sox, who own the second wild-card spot.

Coincidentally, if the playoffs started today, the Yankees and Red Sox would play each other in the wild card round, which would make for great television for baseball fans. However, who knows how that first series would play out in a best-of-three setting, even with the Yankees having the better starting rotation.

According to PlayoffStatus.com, the Yankees’ magic number to clinch the No. 4 seed in the AL playoffs (top spot in the wild card) is 18. If New York takes care of business and Boston slips up over the next couple of weeks, the Yankees should have no problem getting that seed.

However, the goal should be to win the division. When the Yankees did that in 2024, it paid huge dividends: they got a first-round bye and made it all the way to the World Series, where they lost in five games to the Dodgers.

Needless to say, Yankees fans are hoping for a much better result this fall, but it starts with catching the Rays.

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