Yankees magic number: What New York needs to clinch a playoff spot

Leave it to a now-healthy Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees to successfully intertwine the numbers 34 and 99 in the same night.

Tuesday’s victory over the Colorado Rockies, in which Judge played his first game in over three months, locked up the Yankees’ 34th consecutive winning season. Not only are the 83-62 Yankees primed to reach the 90-win mark yet again, but they’re within days of securing their ninth playoff berth in ten years.

The easiest way to keep tabs on how close teams are to clinching is by looking at magic numbers. The formula to calculate a magic number is as follows, per MLB.com:

• Games remaining +1 - (Losses by second place team - losses by first place team)

What is the Yankees’ magic number to make the playoffs?

The Yankees’ magic number entering Thursday's series finale with the Rockies sits at five, and it’s a testament to the core that Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman have built. We’ve regularly been critical of both for their respective contributions to the Yankees’ title drought, ranging from personnel moves to an organizational lack of accountability, but they nonetheless deserve immense credit for how this season has gone.

Cam Schlittler is the odds-on AL Cy Young favorite, and Ben Rice has firmly cemented himself as a steady middle-of-the-order bat. Cashman's low-risk additions of Paul Blackburn (1.90 ERA and 2.9 bWAR in 79.1 innings) and Brent Headrick (1.87 ERA and 2.7 bWAR in 72.1 innings) have been invaluable to an injury-ravaged pitching staff. 

What is the Yankees’ magic number to win the AL East?

As of Sept. 10, the Yankees' magic number to win the AL East sits at 17 games. However, simply tying with the Rays atop the division won’t be enough, as Major League Baseball no longer has a Game 163 tiebreaker.

Instead, the Yankees must sweep the four-game series from Sept. 22-24 to clinch the tiebreaker. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, they’re pretty much a non-factor here; Boston’s magic number to be eliminated from the AL East is eight games, whereas the Yankees’ is 14.

MLB Playoff picture: Possible Yankees postseason matchups

Barring a significant collapse involving the three American League East teams, the Yankees are likely to spend the Wild Card Series either facing the Red Sox or enjoying a first-round bye.  

As things stand, the Yankees would be the No. 4 seed and host the Red Sox in the best-of-three set. The two teams do not meet again this year, and the Yankees already hold the 7-6 season-series tiebreaker. 

Boston holds a six-game lead over No. 6 Cleveland, so for all intents and purposes, let’s plan on the Wild Card Series featuring two AL East teams. 

If the Yankees keep pace and defeat the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series, then they would face either No. 1 Tampa Bay or the to-be-determined No. 2 seed in the second round. As of Sept. 10, the AL Central-leading White Sox would have the first-round bye, and the AL West-leading Astros would host the No. 6 Guardians.

The easiest way to envision the ALDS is as follows:

• No. 1 New York Yankees (AL East winner) vs. lowest-remaining seed (No. 4 Rays, No. 5 Red Sox, or No. 6 Guardians)
• No. 4 New York Yankees vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay Rays (if No. 3 Astros defeat No. 6 Guardians)
• No. 4 New York Yankees vs. No. 2 Chicago White Sox (if No. 6 Guardians defeat No. 3 Astros)

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