Yankees: 3 series that will determine NYY’s playoff fate

1. 3 Games at Toronto, Sept. 28-30

Yup. For all the marbles, in the final week of the season, the Yankees migrate north past the Canadian border for the first time since 2019. 2019!

New York will have completed an unlikely trifecta of battling the Jays on the road in three different cities this season, a feat they hope to never match. The team dropped two-of-three in Florida, then took over Buffalo after that stadium looked like a house of horrors back in 2020 and may have led (directly or indirectly) to Adam Ottavino’s departure to Boston. Shudder.

This year, the Yankees’ final week includes a day off, a road trip to Boston for three, another breather (in case they get stopped by customs?), three in Toronto, and then three home games against the Tampa Bay Rays. Of course, the Bronx has been a comfortable place for that team over the past two years, too, so this should be nine straight challenges to wrap the regular season.

Toronto, though, is the team with all the momentum in the world right now, and it’s not just the offense. How much have you enjoyed Jameson Taillon’s resurgence, Yankee fans? Well, Robbie Ray is right there with him in many categories. The last time we saw these Birds, they didn’t have Adam Cimber or Brad Hand in the ‘pen.

New York will have to go through the gauntlet to reach October — but that’s only natural, considering how much the AL East has reloaded since 2019. Their final stretch will likely be determinative, but this first road trip to Canada feels like the ultimate challenge, especially considering how hungry those fans have already been and how much they’d like to push their beloved club over the edge.

Yankees: 3 waiver trades we wish NYY were able to make in August

August waiver trades are done. Bummer. But that's not going to stop us from dreaming! We wish the New York Yankees could make these moves this month.