AL Wild Card Standings: Yankees must capitalize on Blue Jays series, Red Sox injury

It wasn't the prettiest, but the New York Yankees just took two out of three from the Houston Astros ahead of their crucial homestand against the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers. And the AL playoff race is getting tighter and tighter.

The Yankees are playing their best baseball since falling into a 2.5-month slump that booted them in the Wild Card race after they led the AL East by 7.5 games at one point. New York is 8-2 in its last 10 games, and they're leading the ALWC while closing the gap on the Jays.

AL Wild Card Standings: Yankees must capitalize on Blue Jays series, Red Sox injury

Here's how things currently stand in the American League postseason, which, if the season ended today, would feature the Blue Jays, Yankees, Tigers, Astros, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners:

• AL East Leader - Blue Jays (81-59)
• AL Central Leader - Detroit Tigers (81-60)
• AL West Leader - Houston Astros (77-64)
• Wild Card 1 - New York Yankees (78-62)
• Wild Card 2 - Boston Red Sox (78-63)
• Wild Card 3 - Seattle Mariners (73-67)
• In The Hunt - Texas Rangers (1.5 GB), KC Royals (2 GB), Tampa Bay Rays (2 GB), Cleveland Guardians (3.5 GB)

New York might only have a half-game lead over the Sox at the moment, but Boston just lost Roman Anthony for the remainder of the regular season (and likely until the ALCS, if they make it that far). The star rookie suffered an oblique injury this week and has been ruled out for 4-6 weeks, significantly impacting the team's playoff chances, as Alex Bregman slumps alongside a tough remaining schedule.

But as Jazz Chisholm Jr. said, the Yankees aren't focused on the Wild Card. They're full steam ahead for the division, and then they're looking to get back to the World Series. It all starts this weekend against the Blue Jays, who have a three-game advantage at the moment. The one thing the Yankees absolutely cannot do is get swept to balloon that deficit to six games.

New York's offense has been hot and guys like Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells are heating up to give them even more depth. The rotation has been holding serve, but the bullpen needs to get its act together. Here's how things will shake out from Friday-Sunday:

• Cam Schlittler (NYY) vs Kevin Gausman (TOR)
• Luis Gil (NYY) vs Max Scherzer (TOR)
• Max Fried (NYY) vs Chris Bassitt (TOR)

After this series vs Toronto, the Yankees have the Tigers and Red Sox next before finishing the year against the Twins, Orioles and White Sox. Toronto's got the Astros, Orioles, Rays, Royals and Red Sox. Boston has the D-backs, Athletics, Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays and Tigers.

This one's coming down to the wire, but the Yankees need to make up for their horrible 5-15 mark against the Jays and Sox. It's unacceptable, and it's what's making all the difference in the current playoff race.