The New York Yankees didn’t get their ideal result in a doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays to begin the final week of the 2026 MLB regular season.
The Yanks did win the opening game, but the Rays bounced back to win the nightcap and with it, they clinched the AL East Division title.
The Yankees are 6.0-games back with five games to play, meaning after a September spent trying to make some kind of inroad toward Tampa Bay, the Yanks can no longer catch the Rays.
There are still five more games for the Yankees to play in the regular season. They’ll take on the Rays twice more, and then they’ll play three against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Wild Card Round, which the Yankees are slated to play in now that they didn’t win the division, begins on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
With all that said, it’s going to be an odd last handful of games for New York for one reason in particular.
Do Yankees Games Still Matter?
The Yankees’ five remaining games, strictly from a standings standpoint, do no matter.
The Rays have won the division, so the best the Yankees can do is finish second in the AL East and first among the three Wild Card teams.
And the Yanks are also now 6.0-games better than the Boston Red Sox with five games for each to play, so that’s a gap that also can’t be bridged.
Given that Boston is both third place in the division and holding the second Wild Card spot, it actually means that the Yankees have clinched both the best spots they can get aside from the division.
The Yankees are locked into the top spot in the Wild Card standings. That comes with the No. 4 seed in the American League, and the entire Wild Card Series at home in Yankee Stadium.
They’ll likely host the Red Sox, although that’s not entirely locked in yet.
But to the original point, the Yankees simply cannot move in the standings positionally at all in the last five games of the season.
What Still Matters
The biggest thing to watch as the Yankees wrap up this week is their pitching. They’ll want to get it lined up for the Wild Card Series.
Carlos Rodon and Max Fried both pitched on Tuesday. Do they go again over the weekend, or do the Yanks preserve them?
Gerrit Cole pitches Wednesday, which would line him up almost on usual, full rest to pitch at the start of the Wild Card Series.
Do they alter plans with Cam Schlittler to make sure he’s ready for Game 1?
Pitching is the thing that needs the most intentional movement like this to get it right.
Otherwise, all eyes will be on Aaron Judge’s injury, but it already sounds like he won’t be ready for the Wild Card Round, so that’s not ideal.
The Yankees have a handful of games to take a deep breath before they try and make an October run.
What Still Matters For Yankees in Last 5 Games