Derek Jeter jogged off the field to a raucous cheer, and one out later Mariano Rivera closed the game to kick off one last Yankee Stadium postgame party.
The next baseball bash could be Monday in Boston.
The Yankees’ 7-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday night in their 85-year-old ballpark’s final game kept them alive and prevented the Red Sox from clinching a playoff berth. Boston had secured at least a tie for the AL wild card with a 3-0 victory in Toronto.
The defending World Series champions need one more win to secure their fifth playoff berth in six seasons, and it could come Monday night when they host Cleveland.
Jeter and the Yankees weren’t about to be knocked out of the playoff race Sunday. A night that began with former Yankee greats returning to their positions on the field ended shortly after Jeter was pulled with two outs in the ninth inning – before coming back out for a curtain call.
“It was a perfect evening,” Jeter said.
In other AL games, it was: Cleveland 10, Detroit 5; Minnesota 4, Tampa Bay 1; Chicago 3, Kansas City 0; Los Angeles 7, Texas 3; Oakland 5, Seattle 3.
ina homered in the Bronx to back Andy Pettitte (14-14), a fitting winner after he helped pitch New York to four World Series titles and six AL pennants from 1996-2003.
Joba Chamberlain worked 1 2-3 hitless innings and Rivera closed out the final regular-season home game before New York moves next year into a $1.3 billion palace rising across the street.
Then the Yankees took a lap around the field, waving their caps to the fans as Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” blared over the sound system one last time in this park.
“I’m very, very thankful that we were able to win the game,” Pettitte said.
The Yankees’ run of 13 straight postseason appearances will end with one more loss or Red Sox win – and Boston plays its final seven games at Fenway Park, the last three against New York.
David Ortiz hit a two-run homer and Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-2) improved to 9-0 with a 2.31 ERA in 13 road starts. The Red Sox moved within 1 1/2 games of Tampa Bay in the AL East.
“We really had to win today to put ourselves in the right spot for the rest of the week,” catcher Jason Varitek said. “We’ve got a lot of fun baseball ahead of us.”
Twins 4, Rays 1
Francisco Liriano (6-3) allowed one run over seven innings to lead the Twins, who salvaged a split of the four-game set with the AL East leaders and completed a long road trip with a 4-6 record.
nd the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox. The White Sox beat Kansas City 3-0. After an off day Monday, the top two teams in the AL Central open a three-game series Tuesday in Minnesota.
Andy Sonnanstine (13-8) failed for the sixth time to win his 14th game, which would have tied the Tampa Bay record for single-season wins set by Rolando Arrojo in 1998.
White Sox 3, Royals 0
John Danks (11-8) and two relievers combined on a four-hitter and Paul Konerko hit a two-run homer as the AL Central-leading White Sox beat the host Royals.
Brandon Duckworth (3-2) took the loss.
Angels 7, Rangers 3
John Lackey gave up two hits and struck out a career-high 12 in six shutout innings, Mark Teixeira and Sean Rodriguez homered, and the Angels completed a three-game sweep in Texas.
Lackey (12-4) walked three and allowed only two runners to reach third as the AL West champs continued their playoff tuneup.
Scott Feldman (5-8) allowed six runs and eight hits in six innings.
Indians 10, Tigers 5
Ryan Garko went 4-for-4 with five RBIs, rookie Scott Lewis (3-0) won his third straight start and Cleveland moved over .500 for the first time in more than four months with its sixth straight victory.
me game and completed a sweep of the testy three-game series that began with a benches-clearing brawl on Friday night.
By improving to 41-24 since July 10, the Indians (78-77) have more wins than losses for the first time since they were 22-21 on May 17.
Athletics 5, Mariners 3
Jack Cust hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning and host Oakland completed a three-game sweep of last-place Seattle.
Aaron Cunningham’s pinch-hit, two-run double against Miguel Batista (4-14) in the seventh tied it and the A’s earned their fourth season series win against the Mariners in five years. Bobby Crosby also drove in a run for the A’s.
Brad Ziegler (3-0) pitched a perfect eighth and Joey Devine worked the ninth for his first career save.
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