Given that the Yankees are currently three games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East with 12 games to go for both teams, the Yankees would need at least nine wins/Orioles' losses in order to finish the regular season with the same record as Baltimore. However, in that scenario, it is very likely that Baltimore would hold the tiebreaker.

Cole and Rodon are locks to pitch Games 1 and 2, which leaves Game 3 up in the air. Cortes has really pitched well down the stretch, and Gil is on the short list of AL Rookie of the Year candidates so they are likely the safer bets to start a game if necessary.