Playoff Push: Yanks creep to 2.5 games back of struggling Rays

(Photo courtesy of Rich Schultz/ Getty Images)
The Rays continue to tumble, as they have now lost 5 in a row and 8 of their last 9. Meanwhile, the Yankees have won 3 of their last 4 and are within 2.5 games of the Rays for that final Wild Card spot.
Also, there is now a tie in the AL West between the A's and the Rangers, which also means that we see a tie for the first Wild Card spot. Here are how the teams in contention fared yesterday:
A's: 4-2 win vs Rangers. Homers by Coco Crisp and Yoenis Cespedes lead the way into a division tie with Rangers.
Rangers: 4-2 loss vs A's. Rangers fall into a division tie with A's after poor outing by Derek Holland.
Rays: 11-2 loss vs Angels. Chris Archer roughed up as Rays continue to struggle.
Orioles: 7-2 win vs Indians. Bud Norris shuts down Indians with 8 strikeouts over 7 innings.
Yankees: 9-1 win vs White Sox. 8-run 4th powers Yanks to victory.
Indians: 7-2 loss vs Orioles. Justin Masterson leaves the game injured after the 1st inning; Tribe go 0-5 with RISP.
Royals: 3-1 win vs Mariners. Royals prevail against King Felix.
Wild Card Standings
WC 1 A's/Rangers 79-58 ---
WC 2 Rays 75-61 ---
3 Orioles 73-63 2 GB
4 Yankees 73-64 2.5 GB
5 Indians 72-65 3.5 GB
6 Royals 71-66 4.5 GB