ESPN: Yankees Chose to Play Red Sox over Blue Jays in Potential Game 163

The New York Yankees may have tipped their hand about which team they view as a bigger obstacle in their quest to make the playoffs as an American League wild card. 

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Yankees elected to play the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in a potential tiebreaker game. 

Passan noted the Yankees had the option to play the Red Sox in Boston or Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre if there is a four-way tie for the two wild-card spots. 

There are other potential factors that may have contributed to the Yankees' decision. 

Per Rob Gillies of the Associated Press, unvaccinated players and staff members for every team traveling into Canada require an exemption from the Canadian government. There are additional health and safety protocols that players and staffers must follow if they haven't received a COVID-19 vaccination. 

The Yankees did reach MLB's required 85 percent vaccination threshold for Tier 1 individuals—including players, coaches and staffers—very early in the season, enabling them to operate under relaxed protocols. 

Both the Red Sox and Blue Jays had winning records against the Yankees during the regular season. Boston won 10 of 19 games against its rival. The Blue Jays went 11-8 in 19 games versus the Bronx Bombers. 

The bulk of Boston's success against the Yankees came in the first half. They swept the first two series of the year but have since lost nine of their past 13 meetings. The Yankees swept a three-game series at Fenway from Sept. 24-26. 

New York did take two out of three from the Blue Jays in Toronto from Sept. 28-30. The Blue Jays swept a four-game series at Yankee Stadium in early September when New York was in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. 

This entire scenario could be moot depending on the results of Sunday's games. The Yankees and Red Sox currently occupy the top two wild-card spots with identical 91-70 records. 

If both teams win, the Red Sox will host the Yankees in the AL Wild Card Game on Tuesday. If either club loses Sunday and the Blue Jays or Seattle Mariners win, a tiebreaker will be played Monday to determine the second wild card. 

There's also the possibility the Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays and Mariners all end up tied. In that scenario, two tiebreaker matchups would be played, with the winners getting the wild-card spots.