The Yankees missed out on a huge opportunity to pick up ground in the race for the postseason on Wednesday night.

The start of their series finale against Minnesota was delayed for 1:52 by rain and by the fifth inning the out-of-town scoreboard showed that AL East leader Toronto and second-place Boston had lost as had the team chasing them for the final AL wild card, Cleveland.

Nevertheless, the Yankees couldn’t cash in against a Twins team they’d beat in their previous nine meetings. All-Star righthander Joe Ryan and a relief corps that had to be cobbled together after Minnesota dealt away all of its high-leverage relievers at the trading deadline kept the Yankees stifled and handed them a 4-1 defeat before 44,466 who endured high humidity at the Stadium.

The Yankees (64-57) had a shot

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