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What is the Yankees’ magic number to clinch the AL East division?

We’re tracking how New York is doing in terms of wrapping up the division with plenty of time before the postseason.

Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees and Aaron Hicks #31 celebrate after the Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox 7-6 at Fenway Park on September 13, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

9/27 Update: The Yankees clinched the AL East with a 5-2 win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday night. Next up is the No. 2 seed, which the Yanks are 7.0 games clear of in front of the Guardians.

9/25 Update: The Yankees swept the Red Sox in four games and are down to 2 on the magic number to clinch the division and likely the 2-seed in the AL for the postseason.

9/24 Update: The Yankees have won six in a row and have taken the first three games of a four-game set from the Red Sox this weekend. The Bronx Bombers now have a magic number of 3 to seal up the AL East title.

9/23 Update: The Yankees have already clinched a playoff berth, but are still looking to lock up the AL East. Their magic number is 6 heading into their game on Friday, September 23 against the Boston Red Sox.


It’s been a tale of two halves for the New York Yankees in 2022. In the first half, it appeared the Bronx Bombers were poised to break some records. The Yankees were 64-28 before the second half of the season and had a 13.0 game lead in the AL East division. Fast-forward to September and things have gone downhill. Luckily for the Yankees, you play 162 games of baseball in the Majors. So New York is still well-positioned to win the division title despite struggling mightily in the second half of the season.

Yankees magic number: 3

Update — The Yankees have clinched a playoff berth.

The Yankees are in the midst of a series with the rival Boston Red Sox. Looking ahead, the Yanks play the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates for five games, the Boston again. The games against the Red Sox should help the Yankees secure the division. While Boston normally plays New York tough, the Red Sox have very little to play for the rest of the season. The final three series are against the Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. There’s a chance the O’s are out of it by the last series of the season, which could help the Yanks. That series against Toronto will be the toughest test all year. It could be while the Yankees have a shot to clinch the AL East depending on how things go the rest of the way.