Yankees Beat Red Sox, Clinch Postseason Berth
NEW YORK -- Right fielder Carlos Beltran, first baseman Greg Bird and second baseman Rob Refsnyder hit solo home runs while left-hander CC Sabathia pitched five innings as the New York Yankees clinched a postseason berth with a 4-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.
The Yankees (87-72) clinched their first postseason berth since 2012, when they won 95 games and their last AL East title. They did so after failing Wednesday when losses by the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels put them in position to clinch. New York needs one more win or one more loss by the Houston Astros to get the home game in Tuesday's wild card game.
Beltran hit his 19th home run in the second off Boston left-hander Rich Hill (2-1) and Bird added some breathing room by hitting his 11th with one out in the seventh off Jean Machi. Refsnyder added more insurance in the eighth, driving a first-pitch fastball from Heath Hembree over the left-center field fence.
Third baseman Brendan Ryan added an RBI single, five batters after Beltran sent a full count fastball into the right field seats.
Sabathia (6-10) allowed one run and six hits while pitching through rain and wind at times during his fifth start since returning from right knee inflammation.
He put nine of the 22 batters he faced on base but only allowed an RBI single to center fielder Mookie Betts in the fifth. Sabathia was aided by his defense, which turned double plays on shortstop Xander Bogaerts and right fielder Rusney Castillo in the third and fourth.
Sabathia ended his outing by getting first baseman Travis Shaw on a fly ball to deep center field with the bases loaded.
Adam Warren pitched three scoreless innings and Dellin Betances pitched a hitless the ninth for his ninth save.
Warren ended the sixth by making a behind the back catch on a comebacker by catcher Sandy Leon and highlighted the seventh by retiring Betts on a warning track fly ball. He got help for the final out of the eighth when shortstop Didi Gregorius ranged to his right and made a running catch of designated hitter Allan Craig's liner.
Hill allowed two runs and four hits in six innings as the Red Sox had their season-high six-game winning streak stopped.
The Yankees went ahead in the second when Beltran opened the inning by hitting a full count fastball over the right field fence for his 19th home run. New York took a 2-0 lead on a single to left by Ryan under Bogaerts' glove with two outs in the frame.
Sabathia put two on with one out in the third but induced a double play by Bogaerts. However, he wasn't as fortunate in the fifth as Betts lined a one-out single up the middle to make it a one-run game, doing so after second baseman Josh Rutledge failed to get a sacrifice bunt down.
Following Betts' seventh hit of the series, Bogaerts was intentionally walked ahead of Shaw. Sabathia escaped by getting Shaw on a flyout to center field.
NOTES: New York CF Jacoby Ellsbury (sore back) was out of the lineup Thursday. He was injured crashing into a wall during Wednesday's game and is day to day. ... New York 3B Chase Headley (back stiffness) also was out of the lineup after telling manager Joe Girardi about the stiffness Wednesday night. ... DH David Ortiz, who has been dealing with general soreness, was given the night off. If Ortiz plays this weekend, Boston manager Torey Lovullo said it would likely be a game or games when Ortiz gets three at-bats. ... Lovullo said he had not thought about moving up SS Xander Bogaerts in the batting order to give him more opportunities at 200 hits. Bogaerts entered Thursday six shy of 200.
