Yankees clinch top AL wild card, tie HR record

BOSTON: Aaron Judge hit his irst home run since returning from a fractured right wrist, and it was the homer that tied the all-time single-season team record as the New York Yankees clinched homefield advantage in the American League wild-card game with an 11-6 victory over the hosts Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

The Yankees reached 264 homers, tying the single-season record set by the 1997 Seattle Mariners.

Judge tied the mark with a long drive that landed in the center field seats on the first pitch of the eighth inning off Bobby Poyner. It was his 27th homer and first since July 21.

The Yankees hit four homers to tie the record and also secured home field in the wild-card game for the second straight season. They will host Oakland on Wednesday, and the winner advances to face the Red Sox in the Division Series next Friday in Boston.

Elsewhere, at Denver, David Dahl homered for the fifth straight game, Kyle Freeland worked six tough innings and Colorado Rockies clinched a spot in the postseason with a 5-2 win over Washington Nationals at Denver.

The Rockies secured at least the second National League wild card with their eighth straight win while moving closer to their firstever division title. They still hold a one-game lead over the Dodgers in the National League West after Los Angeles won at San Francisco late.

Freeland (17-7) was knocked around for 11 hits but was able to hold the Nationals to just two runs. He set the club record for the lowest season ERA at 2.85.

Meanwhile, Justin Turner broke a tie with a two-run home run off Madison Bumgarner in the fifth inning, sending Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over hosts San Francisco Giants.

Left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu (7-3) earned the win, limiting the Giants to one run and four hits in six innings. Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth for his 38th save.

Los Angeles has a chance to clinch no worse than a wild-card berth on Saturday when Clayton Kershaw duels Giants rookie Dereck Rodriguez.