Yankees will have to be much better when games really matter

Teammates mob Aaron Hicks (31) who belted the game-winning, playoff-clinching double in the Yankees' 3-2 win over the Orioles Saturday.There was a refreshing touch of autumn in the air Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

The question is: How deep into autumn will the Yankees play?

It took the Yankees 11 innings, but they finally got past the embarrassingly bad Orioles, 3-2, on Aaron Hicks’ RBI-double that scored Didi Gregorius. Combined with the Rays’ 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays, Hicks’ hit put the Yankees in the wild-card game.

The Yankees moved to 95-59, which is a tremendous record — but a lot of those wins came against bad teams. The Yankees will not be playing any team like the Orioles come October.

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