The Boston Red Sox were able to pull out a win at Yankee Stadium before exiting on Thursday, and they exited with the AL East Division crown. The Red Sox set a franchise record with their third consecutive division title with an 11-6 rout of the New York Yankees on the road, avoiding a three-game series sweep. Mookie Betts drove in five runs after returning from injury this week, as Boston finally clinched the division after failing to do so the first two games.
Betts went deep and doubled twice, while finishing with four hits, all to help his team overcome a grand slam from Giancarlo Stanton. Jackie Bradley Jr. also connected with a long ball, while Xander Bogaerts had the official go-ahead RBI with a sacrifice fly. The Red Sox's division win comes to the surprise of nobody, as they have held first place alone every day since July 2nd. Their 104th win of the season guarantees that they will open the Postseason on October 5th at Fenway Park.
Under first-year manager Alex Cora, the Red Sox are just one win away from matching the single-season franchise wins record set by the 1912 club. Craig Kimbrel came in for the non-save opportunity, as it was only fitting that their All-Star closer got the final three outs of the division-clinching victory.
Technically, the Red Sox had clinched the division 30 minutes prior to the end of their game when the Toronto Blue Jay stunned the Tampa Bay Rays with three home runs in the ninth for a walk-off win at the Rogers Centre. That allowed Boston to celebrate, despite starter Eduardo Rodriguez walking a career-high seven batters over 3.2 innings. Steven Wright ended up earning his third win of the season after throwing three shutout innings.
Brock Holt went deep as well for Boston, while J.D. Martinez drove in his major league-leading 124th run of the season. For the Yankees, their lead for the top American League Wild Card spot was trimmed to 1.5 games after the Oakland Athletics routed the Los Angeles Angels, 21-3, earlier in the day. The Yankees' loss took four hours, two minutes on Thursday, as they move on to host the Baltimore Orioles this weekend. The Red Sox will visit fellow division champion, Cleveland Indians.
Betts went deep and doubled twice, while finishing with four hits, all to help his team overcome a grand slam from Giancarlo Stanton. Jackie Bradley Jr. also connected with a long ball, while Xander Bogaerts had the official go-ahead RBI with a sacrifice fly. The Red Sox's division win comes to the surprise of nobody, as they have held first place alone every day since July 2nd. Their 104th win of the season guarantees that they will open the Postseason on October 5th at Fenway Park.
Under first-year manager Alex Cora, the Red Sox are just one win away from matching the single-season franchise wins record set by the 1912 club. Craig Kimbrel came in for the non-save opportunity, as it was only fitting that their All-Star closer got the final three outs of the division-clinching victory.
Technically, the Red Sox had clinched the division 30 minutes prior to the end of their game when the Toronto Blue Jay stunned the Tampa Bay Rays with three home runs in the ninth for a walk-off win at the Rogers Centre. That allowed Boston to celebrate, despite starter Eduardo Rodriguez walking a career-high seven batters over 3.2 innings. Steven Wright ended up earning his third win of the season after throwing three shutout innings.
Brock Holt went deep as well for Boston, while J.D. Martinez drove in his major league-leading 124th run of the season. For the Yankees, their lead for the top American League Wild Card spot was trimmed to 1.5 games after the Oakland Athletics routed the Los Angeles Angels, 21-3, earlier in the day. The Yankees' loss took four hours, two minutes on Thursday, as they move on to host the Baltimore Orioles this weekend. The Red Sox will visit fellow division champion, Cleveland Indians.
