An AL East Race Down To Three Teams

Image Credit: Bill Menzel and George Napolitano/Latino Sports

BRONX, NY — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said his team winning two-of-three in the Bronx this weekend over American League East division leading Toronto was satisfying. Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the goal is to win every series.

And in September with the Blue Jays, Yankees, and Red Sox all vying for postseason baseball next month, every series win is significant. More so now, because the Yankees with their 4-3 win Sunday afternoon moved within two games of the Blue Jays division lead. The Red Sox (79-65), three-and-a half games from the top, are very much in play.

So this has become a three team scenario. The Blue Jays control their own destiny, taking 8-of-13 games from the Yankees which settles a tie breaking situation if needed. Regardless, the Blue Jays recently had a six-game advantage.

Was this a series the Yankees needed to win? Of course, a message was sent. They are in command of the first AL Wild Card, a division now in the balance despite not meeting the Blue Jays again with 19 games remaining.

This 12-game gauntlet against the Astros and Blue Jays has swung the pendulum for the Yankees, overall 11-3 in their last 14 games. Next is three in the Bronx beginning Tuesday evening versus the AL Central division leading Tigers.

Then three at Fenway Park with the Red Sox, ballgames of course that will have that September pennant stretch flavor. After that the Twins, Orioles, and White Sox remain. A lot has to play out in the next three weeks, regardless the Yankees are in a good position if they continue to win.

And the division could come down to the wire, two games is not much to determine and the Blue Jays with a potent offense finished a 3-3 road trip, suddenly not that dominating team recently with command of the division.

“It’s always a little bit different at this time of year when you’re in this division,” Schneider said. “And it’s always a little different against the division too.”

And this division most likely will be the center of attention and filling in the gaps of 12 teams headed to October baseball. Said Boone, “I think that its by definition bigger. We’re playing the team that we’re looking up at in the standings.”

“It’s huge and with that being said we’ve got more work to do,” said Ben Rice who hit a first inning three-run home run off Max Scherzer, the 42-year old future Hall of Famer who took his third loss of the season (5-3 in 14 outings). “So we’re going to keep going.”

A gauntlet of 12-games for Rice and the Yankees. Crucial to a certain extent because the Yankees want to overtake the Jays, win the division, and secure a first round bye in October. At the right time, Max Fried earned his 16th win with seven good innings (16-5). Devin Williams allowed a hit and walk in the eighth inning and his changeup for now, working to perfection striking out Yankee Stadium home run threat Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a full count.

David Bednar with his 22nd save and second in the series as well as the splitter of Fernando Cruz making for a major boost during this stretch.

And Cody Bellinger with a go-ahead double was enough for the Yankees. Everything is coming together, even overcoming those bullpen struggles that put the Yankees in this position of trying to overtake the Blue Jays.

“It’s a really good team over there,” Fried said about facing the Blue Jays. “They don’t give up much. You’ve got to really go out there and make sure you’re on top of it. We were able to win two and win the series. Now we’re looking forward to the Tigers.”

Scherzer arrived on the mound with his reputation, and the Yankees knew what they were up against. And Scherzer with an ailing lower back that put him on the injured list has been instrumental, though allowing four earned runs or more for his third consecutive start. Schneider said he was tipping pitches and said the Yankees are good at it. Scherzer, though more focused on what is at stake for the Blue Jays.

“It was part of the game,” said Scherzer about his pitches. “This is big league baseball. You want to be in this position. You want to be playing competitive ballgames in September. This is what it’s all about.”

He referred to three teams battling for something and said, “We’re going to slug it out against each other. We just have to play our best baseball. Don’t scoreboard watch. Just focus on baseball. Keep the binders up. Keep everything moving forward.”

And for the Blue Jays to keep moving in that direction of moving forward they will need to continue their potent offense. As a team they lead the majors in contact rate (78.7%), putting 39.6 percent of their swings in play. They also lead baseball in average (.269), OBP (,338) and hits (1,318).

Scherzer said, “I love where our team’s at. I love the guys and how we come together. We all believe in each other and we’re all going to pick each other up. I’m glad I’m on this team.”

Then again, the same opinions come from the Yankees and the Red Sox. It’s a part of the September baseball stretch and as they say, slugging it out. The Blue Jays look to cop their first division title since 2015 and for the Yankees, a return to Boston with the Red Sox awaiting them this coming weekend.

Interesting series for sure in the Bronx with Toronto and the Yankees. Though more interest as three AL East teams play for something important the next three weeks.

Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and columnist at LatinoSports.com – X: @Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso

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