Simply put, the Yankees entered the final game against the Orioles on Sunday needing a win. With their remaining regular season dwindling and the Blue Jays still holding onto first in the AL East, there was simply no excuse not to take three out of four from the last-place Orioles. The whole point of making it through their recently-completed dozen game gauntlet was that a golden opportunity awaited them on the other side — 10 games against Baltimore and the White Sox where the Bombers had a real chance to make a final sprint trying to chase down the Jays. A series split was unacceptable — the playoffs may not yet have started but it’s still must-win mode for New York from there on out.

That made their subsequent shutout by Kyle Bradish for the first five innings an even more excruciating

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