Yanks Slip in Playoff Chase

The Yankees' remarkable playoff push was temporarily derailed by the Blue Jays, whose September call-up Jesse Litsch threw almost eight frames of one-run ball. The Yankees still need just one win or one Detroit loss in the next six games to secure the wild-card berth, but their hopes of beating Boston for the division lead grew fainter.

“First things first. You have to clinch the wild card before you can think about the division, and that’s where we are right now,' said a philosophical Joe Torre. Alex Rodriguez had the only RBI for New York, and he and fellow heartthrob infielder Derek Jeter looked sluggish in the field.