Aaron Boone says his job is to keep his players’ eyes on what is on their plates at the moment. Nervous fans can point to the Red Sox holding a 4 ½-game lead and a Yankees’ rotation that features Cy Young candidate Luis Severino at the top and crafty veteran CC Sabathia next needing an upgrade.

Last weekend in Cleveland, Boone couldn’t help but notice how much winning the Red Sox were doing, yet he managed to work toward the Mets, who visit Yankee Stadium Friday night in the first of three Subway Series games.

For all of Boone’s “Today is the most important game’’ mantra, it’s impossible to ignore the Yankees standing in second place in the AL East as the post All-Star portion of the schedule unfolds.

When Joe Torre managed the dynasty teams he would cringe when it was mentioned if his club went .500 the rest of the way, team so-and-so would have to win this many games just to tie the Yankees. And when Torre’s teams were doing the chasing he would wince at the math.

Yet, as the Mets send Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Jacob deGrom to the mound for the first series, the math can’t be ignored.

If the 68-30 Red Sox go 32-32 across the final 64 games, they would finish with 100 wins. To match that the Yankees would need to go 38-29. The likelihood of the Yankees (.653 winning percentage) doing that is far greater than the Red Sox breaking even after posting a .694 winning percentage in front of the All-Star break.

“We have put ourselves in a really good position with the way we have played. We have given ourselves a chance to have a special season, but there is a long way to go,” said Boone, who gets catcher Gary Sanchez back from the disabled list on Friday night to catch Domingo German. “It’s go-time starting Friday and we have to continue to improve and play our best baseball. We have the Mets, that’s our next up and what we are focused on.”

Even if the Yankees improve on a 62-33 record, it might not be enough if the Red Sox don’t slow down. While the Yankees face Syndergaard, Matz and deGrom, a trio that potentially could keep the Yankees in pedestrian mode (5-4 in their previous nine games), the Red Sox play three against the lowly Tigers in Detroit.

Of course, a trade that brings an established starter such as Toronto’s J.A. Happ to The Bronx would help and turn German into a long reliever/spot starter. Tiger right-hander Michael Fulmer has been linked to the Yankees. The Reds’ Matt Harvey is a real long shot, but the Yankees do long shots very well.

The Yankees took two of three from the Mets at Citi Field in early June,

losing to Seth Lugo, 2-0

, in a game started by Severino, after beating deGrom and Matz.

The Mets won’t see Severino or Sabathia because Boone and pitching coach Larry Rothschild opted to give the ace and veteran extended rest coming out of the All-Star break. They will start against the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla. next week.

Ultimately, having 10 games — and the final three of the season in Boston — will likely determine the AL East winner. Yet, in order for that final weekend to be as delicious as any baseball fan would want, the Yankees have to close the gap.

“If you asked all the guys in the room they would say they could do better,’’ Brett Gardner said.

Starting Friday night at Yankee Stadium “could” needs to be changed to “have to’’ if the Yankees are going to avoid becoming small in the Red Sox rearview mirror.