8:02 pm | September 20, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:
NEW YORK — The Boston Red Sox clinched the American League East title too late to celebrate with an all-nighter in Manhattan. But it should make for a heck of an entertaining plane ride to Cleveland.
After losing two straight games in the Bronx, the Red Sox put the finishing touches on their first big objective Thursday night.
Mookie Betts strengthened his MVP credentials with a four-hit, five-RBI night, and Boston wrapped up its third straight division title with an 11-6 victory over the New York Yankees in the teams’ series finale at Yankee Stadium.
Closer Craig Kimbrel struck out Giancarlo Stanton with a runner on third to end the game, and Red Sox players and coaches celebrated for several minutes on the field. It marked the first time the Red Sox had ever clinched the division with a win over the Yankees, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.
The Red Sox (104-49) now can turn their attention to setting up their postseason rotation and resting regulars while trying to maintain their competitive edge heading into October. Barring an abrupt turn of events, they will face either the Yankees or the Oakland Athletics, who are separated by 1½ games in the wild-card race, in the AL Division Series opener at Fenway Park on Oct. 5.
What was billed as a potential titanic AL East race has been resolved a lot sooner than most expected in spring training. The Red Sox extended their division lead over New York to 10½ games with Thursday’s win and joined the Cleveland Indians as the second MLB team to clinch a division title.
The Red Sox need to win at least two of their final nine games against Cleveland, the Baltimore Orioles and the Yankees to break the franchise record of 106 victories held by the 1912 Boston team.
Betts was a force at the plate all night. He lined a double off the left-field wall against Masahiro Tanaka to lead off the first inning and added a single, a double and a three-run homer off Aroldis Chapman in the eighth to make the score 11-6 and prompt fans to begin leaving the stadium. Betts became the first Red Sox player ever with four hits and five RBIs in a game at Yankee Stadium.
With his big night, Betts now has a .339/.432/.635 season slash line. It marked the major-league-leading 19th time he has reached base four or more times in a game this season.
With 30 homers and 28 stolen bases, Betts needs two more steals to join Jacoby Ellsbury as the second 30-30 player in franchise history.
The Red Sox received a strong performance from knuckleballer Steven Wright (3-1), who has been used exclusively out of the bullpen since his return from a knee injury two weeks ago. Wright entered the game after a Giancarlo Stanton grand slam gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead in the fourth inning, and he proceeded to throw three shutout innings to extend his streak of scoreless frames to nine.
Jackie Bradley Jr.’s solo homer off Chad Green tied it at 6-6 in the seventh, and Boston tacked on five more against Green, Dellin Betances and Chapman to win in a rout
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