All of a sudden, the New York Yankees are just 1.5 games from being outside of the current playoff picture. New York occupies the top wild card spot, but the Yankees are just a half-game ahead of the Seattle Mariners,

The New York Yankees signed Max Fried to a historic deal last offseason, and he’s been worth every penny. With Gerrit Cole out, the left-hander has stepped up to lead the rotation, going 11-4 in 21 starts with an impressive 2.62 ERA. When it comes to strikeouts, he has 116 in 127 1/3 innings of work.

Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen has pitched a total of 11 innings in his past four starts. He’s fast. Rasmussen allowed eight runs in his brief cameos. Play $50 on the Yanks (-118, BetMGM ). The rumors of the Yankees’ demise have been greatly exaggerated.