Things Might Be Getting Interesting ...

Ken Davidoff, Post:

The door is ajar.

Not, "Come on in, the party's just getting started!" Not even, "Sure, what the heck, we've still got some time." More like, "We're throwing everyone out in a half-hour."

But it's ajar, undoubtedly. And for these Yankees, that constitutes progress.

Just as the Yankees took no pity on baseball's worst team, the Orioles, the Red Sox's long-awaited speed bump arrived. [The Yankees (83-47) have] pulled within six games — five games in the loss column — of the Red Sox (90-42) ...

The Bosox have now lost six of eight, during which time the Yankees have gone 6-1 to pick up 4.5 games in the standings. ...

"We're not thinking about the Red Sox," Sunday night's winning pitcher, Luis Severino, said after the game. ...

"Haven't looked," David Robertson said, hours before he picked up the save. "Couldn't care less."

"Honestly, I don't look at the standings until we get to September," Dellin Betances said. ...

As of Sunday morning, the website Fangraphs gave the Red Sox an 88.7 percent chance and the Yankees an 11.3 percent chance of capturing the AL East. ...

Historically, it simply is not easy to overcome this sizable a deficit with so few games left. Last year, with 130 games under their belt, the Yankees (70-60) trailed the Red Sox (74-57) by 3.5 games, three in the loss column. The Yankees stepped on the gas the rest of the way, going 21-11 — and they finished two games behind the Sawx, who closed out with a 19-12 mark.

If the Yankees duplicate that 21-11 mark down the stretch, the Red Sox, who are on pace to finish 110-52, would have to tumble to a 13-17 record in order to give the Yankees the division outright. ...

"We've got six games against them," Betances said of the Red Sox. "That's all I know." ...

[Can the Yankees] mount a September surprise? Probably not. Yet after the Fenway Fiasco earlier this month, that it ranks as a topic of discussion at all marks a small triumph for Boone and his guys.

Kristie Ackert, Daily News:

Just last week, Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez called them lazy and lacking the energy of a winning team. ... While the former Red Sox ace was likely rubbing a little salt in a wounded lineup that had just played 20 straight days, there has been a difference in the demeanor of the Yankees since then as they have beaten up on the Orioles.

And just like that, the Yankees have gained 4.5 games in eight days on the Red Sox, even with a lineup that has been devastated by injuries. ...

The six game deficit is close enough to add a little optimism and energy into this American League East race, at the very least.

Realistically, they still have a lot of work to do chasing a team that is going to be tough to catch. But if they can finish off strong this portion of their schedule against sub .500 teams, it could at least get interesting down the stretch. ...

The Yankees open September with a road trip against two of the American League West's top teams: the red-hot A's and the suddenly slumping Mariners. They then return to the East Coast for six more games against the Red Sox, three in the Bronx and three to end the season in Boston.

While the AL East has suddenly gotten a little more intriguing, the Yankees also have to make sure they hold onto that top wild card spot. They have a 4.5-game lead over the A's for the first spot, a position they are going to have to battle to keep on that West Coast trip.