New York Yankees: Why the AL West race is so important

With the New York Yankees currently sitting eight games behind the Red Sox in the AL East, it is likely the Bronx Bombers end up in the AL Wild Card Game. So how does the AL West impact the Yankees?

It is no secret that the AL East is pretty much out of the picture, and with the New York Yankees currently boasting the second best record in the MLB it’s highly likely the Yankees end up in the Wild Card game.

Up until recently the American League West wasn’t much of a race. The reigning champion Houston Astros had a strangle hold on the division and led by double digits for a large portion of the season.

Well now there are two teams tied atop the west, the Astros and the Athletics. In June the As were 10.5 games behind the Astros and in only two months they came storming back to tie it up in the West. This is great and all, but how does it affect the Yankees?

Well this effects the Yankees in a huge way because there is a very good chance the Yankees play the team that doesn’t win the West when the Wild Card game rolls around in October. This season the Yankees have played both the As and the Astros three times each.

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Against the As the Yankees boast a two and one record this season while matching them 18-18 in runs scored with two of the three games going to extras, including the one they lost. The Yanks and As do however match up once more in the beginning of September.

However, against the Astros the Yankees have also fared quite well. The two have matched up a total of seven times this season and the Yankees have taken five of those seven. The Astros and Yankees of course have quite the interesting history since last season.

The Yankees and Astros met in the ALCS last season which unfortunately did not lead to the outcome Yankees fans had hoped for. Houston took the series in seven games giving them a birth in the World Series leading to their first championship in franchise history.

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With this being said it would obviously be preferred if the Yankees wound up against Oakland for the right to play the Red Sox in the ALDS (barring an incredible stretch by either these teams or an AL Central team).

Be sure to follow along as the Yankees will face off against the Athletics in Oakland from September 3rd to September 5th. This could very well be an AL Wild Card game preview and will have some huge implications on the AL West as every game counts down the stretch.

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