It’s official: The Yankees need help.
Before we get that far down the stretch drive, though, they’ll have to prove, again, they can help themselves.
By losing Friday night’s Subway Series opener, 5-1, to the Mets at Citi Field, and with the Blue Jays disposing of Boston, 6-1, up at Rogers Centre, the Yankees no longer control their own destiny in the American League East. At 80-66, they trail Toronto (85-62) by 4 ¹/u2082 games, so with just three games remaining against the division leaders, the Yankees can’t simply win out and prevail. They must watch the scoreboard and hope others help them upend the ultra-dangerous Blue Jays, whose magic number to clinch the division dropped to 12.