Yankees clinch AL Wild Card spot with win vs. Red Sox

The New York Yankees clinched an American League Wild Card spot with their 4–1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.

The Yankees clinched an American League Wild Card spot with their 4–1 win over the Red Sox on Thursday.

CC Sabathia picked up the win at Yankee Stadium, moving to 6–10 after winning his third start in four outings. The lefthander allowed one run on six hits over innings, adding three strikeouts and three walks.

The Yankees hit three solo home runs, beginning with Carlos Beltran in the second before Greg Bird in the seventh and Rob Refsnyder in the eighth. Brendan Ryan also drove in a run in the second on a single.

Boston lefthander Rich Hill picked up the loss and fell to 2–1 after allowing two runs on our hits over six innings, striking out six batters and walking three.

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The Yankees have not reached the postseason since 2012, when they were swept in the ALCS by the Tigers. 

The win was also the Yankees’ 10,000th in franchise history. New York entered Thursday with a franchise record of 9,999–7,567, including their run as the New York Highlanders from 1903 to ’12. The Highlanders went 734–759 over that span before becoming the Yankees in 1913. As strictly the Yankees, the franchise is 9,266–6,808 with 27 World Series championships, 40 pennants and 51 playoff appearances.

The first win in franchise history came on April 23, 1903, when the Highlanders defeated the Washington Senators, 7–2, in Washington. The Yankees’ first win came on April 15, 1913, in a 3-2 win over the Red Sox in Boston.

- Mike Fiammetta