Betts off ? Red Sox get a brief scare

BOSTON — Mookie Betts doesn’t seem to be badly hurt, so the Red Sox can focus on clinching the AL East at Yankee Stadium for the second time in three seasons.

Betts gave the team a scare when he injured his left side making two throws to home plate during a 4-3 win over the Mets on Sunday that cut the Red Sox’s magic number to two for their third straight division title.

“It kind of flared back up on the second throw. It’ll be fine. I’ll be ready to play,” Betts said.

The Red Sox have an 11 1 ⁄ -game lead over the secondand 2 place Yankees and can clinch with one win during a threegame series that opens Tuesday.

“We’ve been looking at the standings and a lot of people have been talking about it for a month and a half,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Now, it’s right there.”

Betts, hitting .337 with 29 homers and 72 RBIs, caught a fly ball from Jeff McNeil in the sixth and threw home as Austin Jackson held at third. Wilmer Flores followed with another drive to right, and Betts unsuccessfully threw home as Jackson scored on the sacrifice fly.

Betts went down to one knee, the three-time All-Star was stretching his left side and back as a trainer and Cora jogged to the outfield. Betts walked off slowly and was replaced.

Red Sox starter Chris Sale allowed one hit in three scoreless innings, lowering his AL-best ERA to 1.92 and extending his scoreless streak to 32 innings. He made his second start after a pair of trips to the disabled list caused by left shoulder inflammation.

The Mets’ Jacob deGrom gave up three runs and five hits over seven innings with 12 strikeouts and one walk, his baseball-best ERA rising slightly to 1.78.