Yankees clinch wildcard postseason berth

ON FRIDAY night, the New York Yankees needed only a win over the Toronto Blue Jays to secure a postseason berth for the first time since 2015 and only the second time in five years. But they let their guard down.

They fell victim to a hidden-ball trick, and later, after they had lost, an intruder sneaked past stadium security and into their clubhouse.

The minor misfortunes continued on Saturday when Luis Severino, their most dependable pitcher, was struck in the upper back with a ball while he was playing catch in the outfield during the Blue Jays’ batting practice.

Severino was OK, and so were the Yankees.

They brushed aside the bothersome incidents and accomplished what they set out to do on the first day of spring training in February: they won a playoff berth, even if many thought that goal was still a year or two away.

By beating the Blue Jays, 5-1, behind a strong pitching performance from Sonny Gray and a three-run homer by Greg Bird, the Yankees clinched one of the American League wildcard spots with 86 wins.

They are still alive in the race for the American League East title, but they trail the Boston Red Sox by four games with eight to play. If the standings stay as they are, the Yankees would host the Minnesota Twins – who they swept in a three-game series last week at Yankee Stadium – in a one-game playoff in the Bronx.

Just by reaching the playoffs, the Yankees surpassed most expectations for this season.

“I’m not surprised,” manager Joe Girardi said before the game, “because I thought there is a lot of talent here.”

Going into the season, the Yankees were committed to a balancing act of rebuilding the team while also trying to win now. The year before, they traded away veteran stars like Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman to stock the minor league system with prized prospects.

But the team’s general manager, Brian Cashman, also made moves designed to fortify the team for this year. That included bringing back Chapman as a free agent, signing Matt Holliday and later trading for players like Gray, Todd Frazier, Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson.