All American League teams were off on Monday night, so the final stretch of the 2025 MLB regular season truly begins tonight. Tuesday offers up a full slate of games, and the majority carry postseason
implications. That includes the Yankees, who begin a series against the White Sox that will last from Tuesday to Thursday. As Estevão detailed yesterday, an outside chance at swiping both the AL East and a first-round bye from the Blue Jays is still in play if the Yankees are nearly perfect on their final homestand and get a little help from Toronto’s opponents.
First, however, the Yanks need to fully nail down their playoff spot as at least a Wild Card. They entered play on Tuesday with a four-game lead on the third Wild Card with six left to play, so while “magic number” can be tricky, they were clearly on the precipice of doing so. This morning though, MLB clarified the situation for the media, simply relaying that the Yankees will clinch with their next win. So if they beat the White Sox tonight, then they’re in.
As YES Network’s James Smyth laid out, given the remaining schedules of the Yankees’ potential Wild Card opponents (which include series clashes with each other), there is no avenue for every team to pass them if the Yankees win their 89th game.
So if Aaron Boone’s ballclub can get it done with Luis Gil on the bump, then they’ll be postseason-bound for the eighth time in the last nine years and—as noted in the dek—a remarkable 26th time in the last 31 years, dating back to 1995 and the days of Yankees icon Don Mattingly and late dynasty architect Gene Michael.
Again, the dream of a division title is still alive and the Yankees’ players obviously have greater goals than merely making it to October. But you can only accomplish one thing at a time, so let’s see that playoff spot secured.
