Here come the Yankees—-seriously.
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New York is a legitimate postseason contender as they are currently 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race and 4.5 games back in the AL East.
It's not something many saw coming after the team traded away several players and restocked their minor league teams with talent in August. But the team has won 21 of its last 34 games and has revived what was thought to be a dead season.
Getting rid of Alex Rodriguez has only helped the team's chances. New players like Gary Sanchez have taken advantage of the opportunity to shine at the plate, while guys like Starlin Castro and Chase Headley have improved their hitting in the last month. The pitching has improved too, from recent acquisition Tyler Clippard in relief to ace starter Masahiro Tanaka playing as good as he has all year.
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Can New York actually make it? It'll be a tough road. The Yankees have a brutal slate of games next week with a three-game series against the Dodgers and rival the Red Sox, who are both first place in their respective divisions. Then in the last week and half of the season, the Yankees have a series against the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles, respectively, who are all above them in the AL East standings.
One thing is for sure, the Yankees will play in October—-their last two regular season games against Baltimore are Oct. 1 and Oct. 2. Whether they play any more than that will depend on if they can beat the tough competition they have remaining.
[h/t Bleacher Report]
