The Yankees are in first place for the first time since April 21, as they sit atop the AL East tied with the Rays for the best record in baseball at 40-23.
The Yankees have been chasing the Rays for over a month now and finally caught up to them before heading into two more weeks of interleague play.
Everyone knew heading into June the Yankees had an easy stretch ahead to give them a chance to catch up with the Rays, and they finally did it on the final day. New York won nine of 12 in the stretch with the only major blemish losing two of three to the Blue Jays.
Comparing the upcoming interleague schedules, both have very similar strength of schedules.
| Series # | Rays opponents | Yankees opponents |
| 1 | Braves (37-27) | Phillies (32-29) |
| 2 | Marlins (31-32) | Mets (35-28) |
| 3 | Padres (37-26) | Diamondbacks (26-38) |
| 4 | Diamondbacks (26-38) | Dodgers (36-27) |
| Combined record | (131-123) | (129-122) |
It’s a little early to be watching the standings, but I have a feeling both these teams will be fighting for the top spot until the last game of the year.
My preseason predictions have the Red Sox getting the wild card and the Yankees taking the division, but I have a feeling I’m wrong.
