Across seven innings Sunday, things couldn’t have been going better for the Yankees. They led the Blue Jays with six outs to go, and the scoreboard relayed the news that the A’s were losing.
By the time the Yankees pinched their noses and swallowed a 3-2 loss in front of 41,758 at a sun-splashed Yankee Stadium, the only way they could view the postcard afternoon was as a colossal missed opportunity to distance themselves in the AL wild-card chase for the top spot.
Instead of pushing the lead to 2 ½ lengths with 13 games left, the Yankees remained 1 ½ ahead of the A’s, who lost to the Rays in St.