BOSTON (AP) — The AL wild-card game will be in the Bronx Glenn Robinson Jersey , where the New York Yankees bats have always felt at home.The Yankees cleared the Fenway fences four times on Friday night to tie the major league single-season home run record, clinching home-field advantage for the upcoming one-game playoff against Oakland with a 11-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox.The win in the opener of the three-game series settled the AL’s last remaining postseason question with two games to go. The Yankees will host the Athletics on Wednesday for the right to play Boston in the divisional round.“That’s an exhale right there, for the moment,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “Now we can start working on getting ready as best as we can for that Wednesday game. It’s nice to finish that off.”The Red Sox, who clinched the best record in baseball with a franchise-record 107 wins, were hoping to make things difficult for their archrivals — and the A’s, too — by forcing the winner of the wild-card game to fly cross-country next week. The ALDS begins in Boston on Friday.Instead, the Yankees will sleep in their own beds, and play in the park where they were 53-28 while hitting 144 home runs.“It’s not the end-all, be-all by any means,” Boone said. “But when push comes to shove you want to be at home.”Reigning Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge hit his first homer since coming off the disabled list Sept. 14, and Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks and Luke Voit also homered to give the Yankees 264 home runs for the season. That matches the mark set by the 1997 Seattle Mariners.AUDITIONSJ.A. Happ (17-6) pitched three perfect innings and allowed just one hit through five. Staked to an 8-0 lead, he loaded the bases in the sixth for Steve Pearce’s grand slam but got Rafael Devers on a groundout to end the inning.In all, Happ allowed four runs on four hits and two walks, striking out seven in six innings. He would be on regular rest for the wild-card game.“I’d love to get the nod,” he said. “But I think we’re going to feel good with whoever is out there.”LONG BALLSSanchez homered to lead off the third http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-manny-pina-jersey , just his second homer and fourth hit of any kind in two weeks. Hicks hit a three-run shot in New York’s six-run fourth. Voit hit a solo shot in the seventh and Judge hit his 27th of the year in the eighth to make it 11-4.Boone said he wouldn’t have expected to set home run records in a season without Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hitting 50 apiece. Judge battled injuries after hitting 52 as a rookie; Stanton dropped from 59 to 37.Twelve players hit 10 or more homers and six topped 20.“We’re getting a lot of production from a lot of guys,” Boone said.LATE THREATBoston scored once and loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth against Dellin Betances, but Eduardo Nunez lined out to second to end it. The Red Sox loaded the bases in the ninth before Zach Britton walked Xander Bogaerts to score a run and cut the deficit to 11-6.But Pearce grounded out on a 3-2 pitch to third base to end it, giving the Yankees their 99th win.“I loved the way we fought,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Got to Betances; got to Britton. We had the big inning against Happ.”PASSING THE MESSAGEPearce is 6 for 32 with six homers against Happ in his career. Asked why he’s struggled so much to keep Pearce in the park, Happ said with a smile, “I don’t know, why don’t you go over there and ask him why it’s so easy for him. I’d like to know what he says.”(When that was relayed to Pearce, he also smiled and said, “It’s not easy. He’s a good pitcher.”)FOR THE RECORDRed Sox left-hander Brian Johnson (4-5) allowed two runs in three innings and left with a 2-0 deficit. William Cuevas came out to start the fourth and gave up six runs on six hits and a walk while getting just one out.DOUBLING UPMiguel Andujar’s fourth-inning double was his 44th of the season, tying Joe DiMaggio for the record by a Yankees rookie.Second base umpire Andy Fletcher appeared to hurt his calf while calling Andujar safe on the play. The game was completed using three umpires. According to Major League Baseball, Fletcher sustained a muscular injury and will need further evaluation but will likely be replaced for the rest of the series.TRAINER’S ROOMYankees: SS Didi Grigorius returned to the lineup for the first time since Saturday because of torn cartilage in his right wrist. Hicks also returned to the lineup; he missed two games with tightness in his left hamstring.UP NEXTRHP Lance Lynn (9-10) is scheduled to face RHP Nathan Eovaldi. BOSTON — After sweeping three games from one potential postseason opponent, the Boston Red Sox host another when the Houston Astros invade Fenway Park for three games this weekend.David Price, 4-0 with a 1.62 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break, returns from a one-game absence with a wrist contusion to pitch the series opener for Boston against 13-game winner Gerrit Cole as two teams go at it for the second time this season.From May 31 to June 3, the teams played four games in Houston — the Astros winning the first two before the Red Sox rebounded with two wins.Article continues below ...Now they come in with the Astros having won 12 of their last 15 games and leading the American League West by 3 1/2 games. The Red Sox, who swept three games in their interleague series in Atlanta this week Cecil Cooper Jersey , capped by a wild 9-8 victory Wednesday – are 9 1/2 games ahead in the East.The Red Sox, playing a wacky lineup Wednesday as Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts rested, trailed the Braves 7-1, scored six in the eighth, fell behind again and then got a two-run homer from Brandon Phillips — capping his first game with his new team.“We were all in at one point, like here we go,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after the game. “It was fun. Honestly, that was the most fun I’ve had all season, watching the last few innings.“They could’ve folded and said, ‘you know what let’s go home. It’s been a productive road trip. People are talking about leads and where we are in the standings and all that. So whatever, let’s go home, enjoy the off day and we get Houston on Friday.’ But there was no sense of that. Everybody was pulling for each other. I pinch hit for a lot of guys and nobody was upset.”The win was Boston’s 97th of the season, the seventh time the franchise has won at least 97. They need only nine wins to break the 1912 team record of 105.The Astros just finished a 7-3 homestand with five straight wins, capped by a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins as Alex Bregman continued his torrid hitting. The third baseman has reached base in 33 straight games, four shy of Lance Berkman’s club record.“He’s putting up so many quality at-bats, one after another http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-hernan-perez-jersey ,” manager AJ Hinch said. “It’s hard to expect it at this level because it’s not as easy as these guys make it look sometimes, but he’s getting great pitches to hit and not missing them, and doing damage.”Price is 14-6 with a 3.60 ERA coming in. Since the break, he has an 0.92 WHIP and has walked seven while striking out 43 in 44 1/3 innings.The left-hander defeated the Astros on June 2 in Houston and is is 6-2 with a 2.67 ERA in 13 games (nine starts) counting postseason against Houston.Bregman is 2-for-5 (.400) against Price, Brian McCann is 11-for-32 (.344) with three home runs and Jose Altuve 8-for-22 (.364). On the flip side, Josh Reddick is 0-for-9, Martin Maldonado 3-for-13 (.231) and George Springer 5-for-21 (.238).Cole is 13-5 with a 2.86 ERA in his first season in Houston. He defeated the Red Sox with a quality start on June 1 and is 2-1 with a 4.74 ERA in three career starts against Boston.Phillips is 11-for-25 (.440) with a homer and J.D. Martinez 3-for-9 (.333) against Cole, and Bogaerts is 0-for-8, Ian Kinsler 2-for-22 (.091) and Mitch Moreland 1-for-8 (.125).The Astros didn’t have a starter listed for Saturday’s game, but Charlie Morton (13-3, 3.15 ERA) is expected to come off the disabled list to face Eduardo Rodriguez (12-3).Morton threw a bullpen session Tuesday and was on target to return.“Unless something unforeseen happens, he’s on track to be the starting pitcher,” Hinch said Wednesday.
