NEW YORK — Soaked to the skin with champagne, Mark Teixeira stood on the giant "NY" logo in the New York Yankees' clubhouse and shouted like crazy.
"Tastes good!" he hollered.
Favored to win the World Series since opening day, the Yankees celebrated like playoff newcomers after beating Boston 4-2 Sunday to clinch the AL East title and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
Absent from the playoffs last season, the Yankees put a bow on this title with their major league-leading 100th victory.
"Everything is clicking right now," winning pitcher Andy Pettitte said. "When you miss out, it makes you a little more hungry to get back there."
Maybe that's why Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and a roomful of All-Star multimillionaires went wild, chanting and jumping and spraying each other with bubbly. Teixeira and many others wore goggles to stave off the sting - of victory, that is.
"I think the way last year ended left a bad taste in all our mouths," Manager Joe Girardi said. "There's a lot of excitement. This has been a fun group, and they enjoy it."
Hideki Matsui's go-ahead single in the sixth inning energized the damp fans and put them on notice that a party was coming. The first real bash at the new Yankee Stadium began with a most familiar scene - Rivera on the mound, closing out another clincher.
Catcher Jose Molina jumped up from behind the plate even before Rivera had fielded Jacoby Ellsbury's soft comebacker for the final out.The Yankees swarmed Rivera on the first-base side of the mound while players in the bullpen streamed in.
Nick Swisher wasted no time putting on an AL East Champions hat. The crowd responded with a standing ovation as the Yankees left the field, with Jeter at the front and several teammates pulling on gray championship T-shirts.
"Winning a championship is what I came here for," pitcher CC Sabathia said. "It definitely feels good - first one in pinstripes, first one in the new stadium, first celebration."
The three-game sweep extended the Yankees' winning streak to five. They finished 9-9 against Boston this year, surprising since New York lost the first eight matchups.
"We're going to see them again down the road, we have a feeling," slugger Alex Rodriguez said.
The Red Sox remain in control of the wild-card race. Their magic number is two to beat out Texas.
ROYALS 4, TWINS 1
Zack Greinke (16-8)pitched out of trouble for seven innings to bolster his AL Cy Young Award chances and Yuniesky Betancourt hit a three-run home run, helping Kansas City win its home finale against Minnesota.
WHITE SOX 8, TIGERS 4
Carlos Quentin hit a three-run home run in his second consecutive game, rookie Daniel Hudson (1-1) earned his first major league victory and host Chicago beat Detroit for its third victory in 11 games.
ANGELS 7, ATHLETICS 4
Kendry Morales homered and drove in three runs, and host Los Angeles snapped its first four-game losing streak of the season by beating Oakland.
RAYS 7, RANGERS 6
Fernando Perez drove home the go-ahead run with a safety squeeze in the ninth inning and visiting Tampa Bay overcame a five-run deficit to spoil Texas' home finale.
BLUE JAYS 5, MARINERS 4
Pinch-hitter Adam Lind had a tying RBI single in the eighth inning and Rod Barajas followed with a go-ahead double, helping host Toronto rally past Seattle.
INDIANS 9, ORIOLES 0
Kelly Shoppach hit a three-run home run, David Huff (11-8) pitched eight strong innings and host Cleveland extended Baltimore's skid to 10 games.
National League ROCKIES 4, CARDINALS 3 Second baseman Clint Barmes made a diving catch to start a game-ending double play, preserving host Colorado's victory over St. Louis. Huston Street earned his first six-out save in three years and the Rockies remained 2 1 /2 games ahead of surging Atlanta in the NL wild-card race.
BRAVES 6, NATIONALS 3 Atlanta scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning, keeping up its late-season surge and completing a three-game sweep with a victory over host Washington.
PIRATES 6, DODGERS 5
Right fielder Andre Ethier misplayed Lastings Milledge's two-run single for an error that allowed the winning run to score, and host Pittsburgh rallied for four in the ninth inning to prevent Los Angeles from clinching the NL West title.
GIANTS 5, CUBS 1
Matt Cain (14-7) pitched eight scoreless innings and Eli Whiteside had two RBI doubles to lead host San Francisco to the victory.
METS 4, MARLINS 0
Pat Misch (2-4) pitched an eight-hitter for the first complete game of his career, and visiting New York spoiled Florida's home finale.
PHILLIES 6, BREWERS 5
Jimmy Rollins hit his 21st home run, Ryan Howard tied Prince Fielder for the major league RBI lead and visiting Philadelphia took another step toward clinching the NL East title, cutting its magic number to three. Any combination of Phillies victories or Braves losses equaling three would give Philadelphia its third consecutive division crown.
ASTROS 3, REDS 2 Wandy Rodriguez (14-11) pitched six solid innings, Humberto Quintero homered and host Houston ended Cincinnati's six-game winning streak.
DIAMONDBACKS 7, PADRES 4 Augie Ojeda had three hits and drove in three runs to lead host Arizona to a victory over San Diego, which has lost two in a row after winning six of their previous seven.
Sunday's games NATIONAL LEAGUE NY Mets 4, Florida 0 Atlanta 6, Washington 3, 10 innings Pittsburgh 6, LA Dodgers 5 Houston 3, Cincinnati 2 Philadelphia 6, Milwaukee 5 Colorado 4, St. Louis 3 San Francisco 5, Chicago Cubs 1 Arizona 7, San Diego 4 AMERICAN LEAGUE Cleveland 9, Baltimore 0 NY Yankees 4, Boston 2 Toronto 5, Seattle 4 Chicago White Sox 8, Detroit 4 Kansas City 4, Minnesota 1 Tampa Bay 7, Texas 6 LA Angels 7, Oakland 4
Sports, Pages 13, 18 on 09/28/2009