It doesn't matter that the Blue Jays are well behind the Yankees in the American League East. Taking two out of three games from them on the road, with the way things ended last year in the AL Division Series, is just something that they needed to do.

Big blasts by Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice over the weekend likely showed an ailing Jays team that this isn't the same Yankees group as last year. It doesn't matter that the big knock against them was that they were "running it back" this winter.

One thing about this variation of the Yankees is that they have let on that there is some bad blood between their fans and the team north of the border. Before Cam Schlittler turned out a gutsy seven-inning outing, he mentioned just how much he enjoys getting under their skin.

"I know they don't like us," Schlittler said, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "The fans don't like us. The fans don't like me. So it'll be good to go out there and try to be locked in, try to give us a quality start and put us in a position to win games."

Even Will Warren was open about where the Yankees stood with the Blue Jays. He didn't have the same success as Schlittler at the Rogers Center, but was finally happy to take a series against them.

"Chip on our shoulder; we don't like those guys over there, and they don't like us," Warren said. "So finding any way to win is always a good one, especially on the road."

A snippier Yankee team

It seemed like the Yankees didn't take the Jays seriously last year until it was too late, and they squandered a seven-game lead in the division. The talk around this team taking things more seriously was already there, and it seems like that motivation hasn't faltered. While some may see Anthony Volpe still on this roster as a reason that may not be the case, it's clear from how open the Yankees are about their disdain for Toronto that there's strong motivation to cast aside the demons of last season.

Taking a series against the Jays after splitting the last one is a good sign that the Yankees are on the right track to win the AL East. In fact, New York is FanDuel Sportsbook's favorite (-270) to do so as of Monday afternoon. Manager Aaron Boone's squad is also the +195 favorite to win the entire American League.

Even if the Jays aren't as good as they were in 2025, and they were missing Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who hasn't been himself anyway, every game was close. Don't let that 8-3 score in game three fool you. That one looked like it was headed to extras, were it not for the heroics from Rice.

This edge, combined with a deeper roster than last season, is why the Yankees could be headed for their first division win since the 2024 season, when they reached the World Series. Right now, the Yankees are a game up on the Rays and have sole possession of first place.

It's a great sign, considering they have been without their captain, Aaron Judge, for a bit and have yet to see a rotation with both Gerrit Cole and Max Fried healthy. The Yankees have a sky-high ceiling once they're whole, and, at this point, they'll have to bide their time and keep stacking wins until they're whole again.

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