The Yankees have placed themselves in quite a jam, with two straight losses to the Rays leaving them guaranteed of nothing beyond a 163rd regular-season game.
Beat the Rays on Sunday and the Yankees will clinch a wild-card spot. It’s that simple. Beyond that, it gets complicated. Here are the potential scenarios heading into Sunday’s scheduled finales:
Yankees win, Red Sox win
Yankees at Red Sox in wild-card game
Yankees lose, Blue Jays lose, Mariners lose
Yankees at Red Sox in wild-card game
Yankees win, Red Sox lose, Blue Jays lose Mariners lose
Red Sox at Yankees in wild-card game
Yankees lose, Red Sox lose, Blue Jays win, Mariners win
Long-fantasized four-way tie for both wild-card slots. Teams would be seeded in this order: Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees and Mariners, meaning the Red Sox and Blue Jays would likely host the other two in some combination on Monday, the two winners advancing to the wild-card game.
Yankees lose, Red Sox lose, Blue Jays win, Mariners lose
Three-way tie for the two wild-card slots among the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees, who would be seeded in that order, setting up a likely Blue Jays at Red Sox game Monday, with the winner advancing to the wild-card game and the loser visiting the Yankees on Tuesday. The winner of that game would become the second wild card.
Yankees lose, Red Sox lose, Blue Jays lose, Mariners win
Three-way tie for the two wild-card slots among the Red Sox, Yankees and Mariners, who would be seeded in that order, setting up a likely Yankees at Red Sox game Monday, with the winner advancing to the wild-card game and the loser visiting the Mariners on Tuesday. The winner of that game would become the second wild card.
Yankees lose, Red Sox win, Blue Jays win, Mariners win
Three-way tie for the second spot among the Blue Jays, Yankees and Mariners, who would be seeded in that order in a setup featuring Club B at Club A on Monday, with the winner hosting Club C on Tuesday and the winner of that playing the Red Sox on Wednesday at Fenway Park. This scenario presents a tougher decision on which designation to choose. The Blue Jays would get the first choice: Would you rather have to win two games, at least one of them at home, or just one that’s definitely on the road?
Yankees lose, Red Sox win, Blue Jays lose, Mariners wins
Mariners at Yankees on Monday, with the winner advancing to Boston for the wild-card game.
Yankees lose, Red Sox win, Blue Jays win, Mariners lose
Yankees at Blue Jays on Monday, with the winner advancing to Boston for the wild-card game.
