NEW YORK — The New York Yankees need the Toronto Blue Jays to lose Sunday to have a chance at winning the American League East and the fruits that come with it — particularly skipping the wild-card round and five days of rest. The teams will go into the day tied for first place at 93-68, but the Blue Jays have the tiebreaker, having beaten the Yankees 8-5 in the season series.

If the Blue Jays win their game against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Rogers Centre, the Yankees will take the No. 4 seed and host the three-game wild-card starting Tuesday.

“Kind of crazy,” manager Aaron Boone said of everything coming down to the last game of the season.

But the Yankees’ destiny isn’t totally out of their control. They also have to beat the Baltimore Orioles, who don’t seem likely to roll over for them.

Here’s how they could do it:

Pull out all the stops

If starting pitcher Luis Gil is getting rocked early, then Boone should yank him and match up his relievers the rest of the way. The bullpen will have had plenty of rest, with all their late-inning arms resting Saturday. If Jazz Chisholm Jr. (forearm bruise) can play after getting hit with a 96-mph sinker in Saturday’s win, he should be on the field. If it makes the most sense to start the lefty-hitting Jasson Domínguez in left field against Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Bradish, a righty, and keep Giancarlo Stanton on the bench for a midgame pinch-hitting spot, so be it.

“Just do what we’ve been doing the past couple of days: win today,” right fielder Aaron Judge said. “That’s been our motto the last couple of weeks. Don’t focus on what’s happened in the past, just what’s ahead of us.”

Attack Kyle Bradish

Last Sunday, Bradish held the Yankees to one run over six innings, striking out nine with two walks and two hits. He got strikeouts on four pitches: curveball (three), slider (three), sinker (two) and four-seamer. He threw 91 pitches, and only four Yankees got to three-ball counts.

The Yankees won the game 7-1 thanks to Baltimore’s 10th-inning meltdown. It wasn’t an anomaly for Bradish, who has a 2.25 ERA through five starts this season after returning from Tommy John surgery. He’s given up just one run in each of his last three outings.

Schlitt’s Creek. @Cam32Schlittler | #RepBX pic.twitter.com/31efug4ARW

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 27, 2025

Hope for the old Luis Gil

Gil was the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year. He needs to pitch like that version of himself. His average fastball is down a full tick (95.3 mph in 2025 vs. 96.6 mph in 2024). His strikeouts are way down (6.8 K/9 in 2025 vs. 10.1 K/9 in 2024). And he’s getting much less swing-and-miss all around, but particularly on his fastball and changeup.

“I do think that is something that, when you look at it, like, is this sustainable?” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake told The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner earlier this week. “I think it’s probably not.”

Gil has all but lost his chance to be the Yankees’ third starter in the playoffs to hotshot rookie Cam Schlittler, who dominated the O’s for seven innings Saturday. But it’s not too late for Gil to contribute.

“I know he’ll walk out there with a lot of confidence and not afraid of the moment,” Boone said.

Get the crowd into it

The O’s have nothing to play for. The Yankees should be amped up. Yankee Stadium should be packed for the final regular-season game of the year. Players should be feeding off the energy of the Bleacher Creatures, and vice versa.

“For those of us and you guys and fans that live and die with their teams all summer long,” Boone said, “it should make for an exciting day.”

(Photo of Giancarlo Stanton and Ryan McMahon: Ishika Samant / Getty Images)