SEATTLE — A year ago, the New York Yankees were eliminated from playoff contention with just one week left in the regular season, ending a streak of six straight playoff appearances.

Remembering that made it feel all the better for the Yankees to secure a playoff spot with more than a week to go.

“A lot of things have come together. Probably better overall health. Certainly an added focus for guys who have had tough years and just plain and simple, we’re better. We weren’t a great team last year and this team has a chance to do something special,” New York manager Aaron Boone said.

After sitting at home when the playoffs began last year, the Yankees secured a playoff spot on Wednesday night with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners in 10 innings.

New York has the best record in the American League at 89-63 and is five games ahead of second-place Baltimore in the AL East with 10 to play. The latest win secured the Yankees at least a wild-card spot.

It’s the Yankees’ 59th postseason appearance, the most in MLB history, but New York is still trying to end a World Series drought that dates back to 2009, when the franchise celebrated its 27th title.

Last year, the Yankees were plagued by an injury-plagued roster that was eliminated from playoff contention on September 24. Before that, the Yankees had not missed the postseason since 2016, when Aaron Judge had only 27 major league games of experience.

Now they head back to the playoffs with Judge, the favorite for American League MVP, another star player in Juan Soto and a starting pitching staff that may have enough depth to carry the Yankees deep into the playoffs.

“(It’s) definitely going to be exciting, especially after the season we had last year and missing the postseason,” Judge said. “That’s what we went into the season to do, make the postseason and give ourselves a chance to go there and win a World Series. That’s step one, but we’ve got to get there first.”

The task in the final stretch is to make sure that returning to the playoffs also means becoming AL East champions. The Orioles’ recent slump has blown a hole in the division race and perhaps built up enough cushion to take some of the drama out of the teams’ three-game series in the Bronx next week.

But it will only be stress-free as long as the Yankees don’t stumble in the coming days. After wrapping up the series in Seattle on Thursday, the Yankees will wrap up their latest trip with three games in Oakland.

They hope this will be the last time they are away from home for a while.

“Our goal is to win the division. That’s what we want to do,” Soto said. “We’re going to focus on that and try to finish the season strong.”

Soto is a big reason the Yankees are back in the playoffs and possibly clinching home-field advantage in the American League. While Judge is rightfully favored to win his second MVP in the past three seasons with 53 homers and 136 RBIs, Soto’s contributions have been just as important.

Soto reached the 40-homer mark for the first time Tuesday in the series opener against the Mariners. It was also the 200th longball of his career, at age 25 and heading into an offseason in which he will be the top free agent. The pairing will likely determine how deep this Yankees playoff run goes.

“This year, all year, sitting in the front row, watching him play, watching him play day in and day out, just a great hitter,” Boone said.

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.