ANAHEIM, Calif. – First, the bad news: The Yankees ended their once-promising road trip by losing four in a row on the West Coast before beating the Angels on Wednesday night.
The losses undid at least some of what the Yankees accomplished during their 13-game winning streak that briefly had them eyeing the possibility of chasing down the Rays for the AL East title.
But although those hopes mostly have been dashed, it seems the Yankees still are in good shape to at least host the one-game wild card game next month.
For one, they’re still in the top spot, while the team directly behind them – the Red Sox – is reeling.
Additionally, the Yankees entered the final month of the regular season with the easiest strength of schedule of their main competitors for both the wild card and the division.
According to Tankathon.com, the Yankees’ remaining opponents have a winning percentage of .471. Only the Reds and Phillies face worse competition the rest of the way.
Among the teams the Yankees are primarily worried about, the A’s have the toughest schedule, with a .516 opponent winning percentage.
Next up is Tampa Bay at .509, which includes a three-game series against the Yankees in The Bronx to close out the regular season. The Rays recently activated former Yankee right-hander David Robertson to bolster their bullpen and had their nine-game winning streak snapped Wednesday against Boston.
The Red Sox and Blue Jays are next at .491, followed by the still-lurking Mariners at .485.
Within the final month, the Yankees will have some control against those teams. In addition to the Rays series, the Yankees have three games remaining against Boston at Fenway Park, as well as seven versus Toronto.
For the most part, the Yankees have said their attention is solely on what they’re doing.
“My focus is on the New York Yankees at all times,’’ Anthony Rizzo said Tuesday.
But DJ LeMahieu acknowledged earlier in the Angels series that this is the time of year players start glancing at the scoreboard and the standings.
Of course, they’re more inclined to do so during the franchise’s longest winning streak in decades – like the one the Yankees used to put themselves firmly in the playoff picture – than they are when they’re slipping closer to the wild card pack.
Aaron Boone has been consistent in saying he doesn’t pay much attention to what the Rays – or any other team – is doing in the standings.
“We can’t control that,’’ Boone said. “We continue to work to be the best team we can possibly be and put ourselves in a position to play for something meaningful. We understand we play in a great division. [The Rays] lead the division because of how well they played all year- and certainly over the last couple of months. We can’t really worry about it.”