BOMBS AWAY! YANKEES GO BOOM TO CLINCH DIVISION CROWN!

Well, the roller coaster regular season ride is over. Through all the injuries, the ups, and the downs, the Yankees have clinched the American League East title in their 162nd game to go along the best record in the American League. What makes it even sweeter is that they were able to completely destroy the Red Sox with homers as the Yankees won 14-2 on Wednesday night.

The Yankees clubbed four home runs in the season finale, which is what they needed to do to set the franchise record for homers hit in a single season (245). The four home runs came off the bats of Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson, who both hit a pair.

Curtis Granderson hit a 3-run shot in the first after the Yanks fell behind 1-0, while his second came in the seventh, a solo blast. But the star of the night, Robinson Cano, went 4-for-4 with two homers (2-run bombs in the third and fifth to score Alex Rodriguez), a walk, six RBI, and three runs scored. Robbie finished his season by going 24-for-39 (.615 BA) in his last nine games with at least two hits in each game. That’s beyond video game type stuff. When Robbie’s hot, there’s no one else I’d rather have up in the box in any situation.

Eight of the Yankees runs came via the homer, so obviously there was more production beyond the long ball. To go along with Cano’s 2-run single in the sixth, Ichiro Suzuki drove in two runs with a double in the seventh while Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira plated a run each with a single and sac-fly, respectively, as part of a 5-run seventh. Every starter had a hit and five of the nine starters drove in at least one run. The team also went 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position while scoring in five of the eight innings. Finally, in total, the Bombers had 15 hits, one of them by Derek Jeter who finished the season with 216 hits, which leads all Major Leaguers. Not bad for a 38 year old shortstop.

Hiroki Kuroda started, and he needed a good effort. In his last six starts and 37.2 innings, he pitched to a 5.02 ERA. He was never bad in any of those previous starts, just a lot of sub-par type of outings, especially for him. Anyway, he went 7 innings, allowed two runs on seven hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. Kuroda has been an excellent signing by the Yankees as he finishes the season with a team leading (tied with Phil Hughes) 16 wins, while posting a 3.32 ERA. Of course we know he’ll be starting in the playoffs, we just don’t know if it’ll be in Game 2 or Game 3.

Final was 14-2, Yankees. We swept the Red Sox... outstanding!

With their 95-67 record, the Yankees will be able to sit back and await the winner of the Wild Card game between the Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. Personally, I would like to play the Orioles, but I truly believe the Yankees can beat either team. We’ll just have to wait and see. The ALDS starts on Sunday and games 1 and 2 will either be played in Arlington or Baltimore because of the 2-3 division format. The Yankees are a step closer to their ultimate goal, and hopefully they’ll be popping more champagne in their quest for Number 28.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Lead Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @SchindlerJesse


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