Yankees make playoffs again, Tigers lose their stripes

NEW YORK: The New York Yankees clinched their 13th consecutive playoff appearance with a crushing 12-4 road victory against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Wednesday.

Robinson Cano drove in five runs and Derek Jeter homered as the Yankees grabbed a wildcard spot, eliminating defending AL champion Detroit from the playoffs despite the Tigers' 9-4 defeat of the Minnesota Twins.

"I'm elated," New York owner George Steinbrenner said in a statement.

Even with the win, though, the Yankees are likely to have their streak of nine consecutive American League East titles ended by arch rivals the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 11-6 on Wednesday to lead the Yankees by three games with four to play.

Still, Steinbrenner said he was pleased with the progress of the Yankees, who were eight games under .500 in late May but responded with a 70-38 mark for the remainder of the season.

"After a tough first half of the season when everyone seemed to lose faith except for our players and our fans, the team has really stepped up and shown themselves to be the champions that they are," Steinbrenner said after the Yankees won for the 15th time in 20 games.

Cano drilled a three-run homer in a seven-run fifth inning that gave the Yankees an 8-1 lead. He also drove in runs with a fourth-inning grounder and a sixth-inning single.

Jeter used a fourth-inning homer to tie the score at 1-1. He had three hits as did Johnny Damon and Jorge Posada.

First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz topped the 18-hit attack with two doubles and two singles while going 4-for-5.

Wang Chien-ming (19-7) pitched six strong innings to gain the victory. He struck out six and walked three while yielding seven hits and two runs.

*Mike Lowell drove in five runs with three singles to help the Boston Red Sox defeat the Oakland Athletics 11-6 and close in on its first division championship in 12 years. The win was the teams fourth in five games.

The Toronto Blue Jays scored all eight runs in the first inning to beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-5.

Sammy Sosa hit his 609th career homer as the Texas Rangers crushed West Division champion the Los Angeles Angles 16-2.

Bonds fails to shine

Barry Bonds played his last game for the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, bidding farewell to fans who stuck by him through a doping scandal and cheered as he became Major League Baseball's home run king.

The night game with the San Diego Padres did not stop to honor Bonds, in his 22nd Major League season, but after leaving the game in the seventh inning he stepped on to the field of AT&T Park to a standing ovation and thanked Giants fans.

Bonds was hitless for the night but he brought Giants fans to their feet in the sixth inning by striking a long fly ball that fell just before the centerfield wall. It was caught for an out and ended the inning. The Padres won the game 11-3.

MLB.com reported on Wednesday that Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he had written Bonds's name on the team's lineup card for the final time.

Bonds, 43, will leave the Giants at the end of this season, an emotional parting for the biggest name in baseball and the club's management, which aims to rebuild a struggling team. The Giants are in last place in the National League West.

Giants fan Andrea Salmond of San Francisco had mixed feelings attending the final game for Bonds, who has been with the Giants for 15 seasons.

"The downside is we're going to miss a great player," Salmond said. "On the other hand, it's time for a new era."

That new era includes the Giants moving on from the alleged steroid use by Bonds. "You wonder if that hasn't put a mark on the team," Salmond said.

Earlier on Wednesday, fashion designer Marc Ecko said he would put a symbolic mark on Bonds's historic record-breaking home run ball after paying more than $750,000 for it.

Ecko said he would permanently brand the ball with an asterisk before shipping it to baseball's Hall of Fame. The asterisk represents the belief by many baseball fans that Bonds may not have been truthful in denying steroid use.

Bonds made baseball history with his 756th homer, topping Hank Aaron's Major League Baseball record, in the Giants' game against the Washington Nationals on August 7.

Agencies

(China Daily 09/28/2007 page20)