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Yankees need Judge return to catch Rays

9/8/2026

24 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Yankees Pursue Playoffs

MLB teams compete for postseason spots as the season ends.
Division winners hold six-team leads and are expected to stay ahead.
The Yankees need Aaron Judge’s return and a sweep of the Rays to pass Tampa Bay.
The Guardians must sweep Chicago next week despite scoring woes.
Dylan Cease could win the strikeout title if he pitches extra innings to erase a six-punch deficit.

Summary

Crow-Armstrong Leads

Phillies outfielder Cameron Crow-Armstrong led MLB with 14 home runs in August, outpacing all peers.
He accumulated 9.4 FanGraphs WAR by early September, projecting an 11-WAR season.
Crow-Armstrong’s OPS has hovered at 1.101 since early June, indicating elite offense.
Bryce Schwarber’s power dropped to 12 homers since July after a lower-back injury.

History

Historical Context

In 1995 MLB introduced a wild-card when each league created three divisions, allowing the New York Yankees to enter the playoffs without winning the AL East. The system changed to a single-game wild-card in 2012, then to three wild-card teams per league in 2022; by 2024 the Yankees hold the most wild-card appearances (five). Those shifts fuel today’s races for the Yankees, Guardians and Phillies.

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Yankees Pursue Playoffs

MLB teams compete for postseason spots as the season ends.
Division winners hold six-team leads and are expected to stay ahead.
The Yankees need Aaron Judge’s return and a sweep of the Rays to pass Tampa Bay.
The Guardians must sweep Chicago next week despite scoring woes.
Dylan Cease could win the strikeout title if he pitches extra innings to erase a six-punch deficit.

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