Yankees Claim 10,000th Franchise Win; Wild Card Spot

The fourth and final game of the rivalry series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox took place on a rainy, cold night in the Bronx on Thursday and although the Yankees have been on the losing end of this series so far, the outcome was much different this time around.

With a playoff berth on the line, CC Sabathia took the mound for the Yankees after a few solid outings in his last few starts. Lefty Rich Hill took the mound for the Red Sox, he was also trying to build upon the success he has had lately. But after solid pitching outings by Sabathia and Adam Warren and homers by Carlos Beltran and rookies Greg Bird and Rob Refsnyder, the Yankees claimed their wild card spot and first playoff run since 2012 and the franchise’s 10,000th win.

In the bottom of the second with no outs, Carlos Beltran hit a solo homerun on a fly ball to right center field to give the Yankees the 1-0 lead. Later in the inning Brendan Ryan hit a RBI single on a ground ball to left to send home John Ryan Murphy for a two run ballgame.

Sabathia started to struggle in the fifth, allowing a RBI single by Mookie Betts to send home Devon Marrero.

With a 2-1 game, Adam Warren took over pitching duties for the Yankees and would pitch three innings, allowing just one hit and one walk; striking out three batters and securing his third hold of the season.

In the bottom of the seventh, Greg Bird hit his eleventh homer since joining the Yankees on a line drive to right center off of Boston’s Jean Machi to make it 3-1.

In the bottom of the eighth, with Heath Hembree pitching for the Red Sox Rob Refsnyder hit just his second Major League homer on a fly ball to left center to increase the Yankees’ lead to 4-1.

Dellin Betances was then able to close it out for the Yankees, earning his ninth save of the season striking out two of the three batters he faced.

The Yankees will now play a one game wild card against one of a few possibilities at this point as the AL West is still up for grabs, it could either be the Houston Astros, LA Angels or Texas Rangers if they don’t win the division, or even the Minnesota Twins if they can catch up, a game behind.