Acce s the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. The Yankees gave the Rays a home to play in this season, but apparently the $15 million the Rays paid in return was as far as they were willing to go to help the Yankees. Of course, the Yankees had plenty of chances to help themselves out over the course of the regular season just one game would have been enough but when it ended Sunday, not even eight straight wins to close it out was enough to get past the Blue Jays for the top spot in the AL East. The Yankees late comeback bid for a second straight division title ultimately fell short, with the Blue Jays outlasting them via a tiebreaker courtesy of winning the season series 8-5. The race came down to Game 162 on Sunday, and while the Yankees beat the Orioles 3-2 on the back of two home runs from Ben Rice, the Blue Jays finished off a sweep of the Rays, who proved to be no help. Ben Rice hits a home run during the Yankees-Orioles game on Sept. 28, 2025. JASON SZENES/ NY POST Explore More And so the Yankees postseason will begin Tuesday night in The Bronx against the Red Sox in the wild-card series, while the Blue Jays enjoy a bye into the ALDS. The games in March, April are just as important as Game 162, Aaron Judge said. Nothing we can do about it now besides turn the page and get locked in on October. Ending the regular season with an identical 94-68 record to the Blue Jays, the Yankees left themselves open to the what if game. How many games did they squander, especially during their summer swoon, when salvaging just one of them would have made them division winners? CHECK OUT THE AND Except there is little time for that now, with the playoffs suddenly beginning Tuesday and the Yankees facing another division nemesis that gave them problems during the season. A month-and-a-half ago, we were teetering, when it wasnt going great, even being out of the picture a little bit, manager Aaron Boone said. To right the ship and then really solidify our position and then have a real shot at the East here all the way to the Tyus Jones Jersey last day is hopefully something that serves us well, has kept us sharp, has kept us really locked in. The Red Sox won the season series 9-4, though the Yankees took two of three against them in their last meeting earlier this month at Fenway Park. Game 1 will feature a showdown between Max Fried and Garrett Crochet, the dominant lefty who has been a handful for every team, including the Yankees, while Game 2 will pit Carlos Rodn against Brayan Bello. Alejandro Kirk celebrates after hitting a grand slam during the Blue Jays-Rays game on Sept. 28, 2025. AP Tough ballclub with a great lineup, obviously good starting pitching, good back end of the bullpen, Judge said. Weve had some battles with them all year. Looking forward to whats going to be another fun series. The Yankees on Sunday tapped back into the formula that served them well so often this season especially during a 34-14 finish that was the best mark in the majors. They hit the long ball, got quality starting pitching and, in the latest encouraging sign for a bullpen that scuffled for much of the season, got four shutout innings from their top four relievers. A fired-up Rice took Kyle Bradish deep in the bottom of the first inning for the 1-0 lead, shortly after the Rays had taken a 1-0 lead over the Blue Jays in Toronto. Go beyond the box score with the Bombers Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+. Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! The air began to leak out of the Yankees division hopes soon after, though, when the Blue Jays tied their game in the bottom of the first and then went ahead 5-1 on a grand slam from Alejandro Kirk who found a way to still be a Yankees killer even when not facing the Yankees. Luis Gil, who is unlikely to factor into the wild-card series roster, gave up back-to-back home runs to Jordan Westburg and Gunnar Henderson in the top of the fourth inning that put the Orioles up 2-1. Luis Gil pitches during the Yankees-Orioles game on Sept. 28, 2025. JASON SZENES/ NY POST But shortly after the Rays pulled within 5-4 of the Blue Jays the closest they would get all afternoon the Yankees answered with a Giancarlo Stanton single that drove in Judge to tie the game. By the time Rice clubbed his 26th home run in the bottom of the eighth to put the Yankees on top, the Blue Jays had blown the game open against the Rays, allowing the champagne to be wheeled back into storage at Yankee Stadium. But the Yankees are now hoping they can have a date with it again by Wednesday or Thursday. The last couple weeks were pretty fun, Judge said. Going into a gauntlet of games where people kind of counted us out. We took care of busine s. Especially this last week, really took care of busine s. Kind of been treating it like the postseason these past couple weeks. But its great. Keep this momentum going into Tuesday and lets see what happens. Xavier Tillman Jersey