It Takes Time, but Yankees Get Sweep

The New York Yankees had to work extra long to extend their lead in the East Division.

The Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 14-11, to complete a sweep of Friday’s day-night doubleheader and give them a season-high 3 1/2 -game lead in the division. They won the first game, 12-4.

At 4 hours 45 minutes, the nightcap was the longest nine-inning game in major league history, and it came on top of a relatively speedy 3:55 afternoon contest. It surpassed the 4:27 it took the Dodgers and Giants to play on Oct. 5, 2001.

“We kept looking up and it kept being the fourth inning. It was nuts,” Yankees Manager Joe Torre said. “I’m proud of it, especially in this ballpark, where every game seems like it’s the longest game in history.”

The teams combined for 41 runs and 61 hits. Twenty pitchers threw 783 pitches. In all, the teams played 8 hours 40 minutes of baseball, from Jason Johnson’s first pitch at 1:10 p.m. until Mariano Rivera covered first to retire Wily Mo Pena at 12:52 a.m.

“I don’t even remember half of it,” said Derek Jeter, who hit a bases-clearing double in a seven-run seventh inning to give New York an 11-10 lead.

Because the park was cleared between games, it does not count as a doubleheader in the record books, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The longest doubleheader, between the Rangers and White Sox on May 24, 1995, took 7:39.

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ROUNDUP

at Kansas City 7-5, Oakland 1-3: Mike Sweeney hit a go-ahead, two-run double in a four-run eighth inning, and the Royals completed a sweep. The Royals last swept a doubleheader Sept. 20, 2005, when they played host to the Detroit Tigers.

Texas 2, at Detroit 1: Kevin Millwood pitched seven innings to win his second straight start, and Mark Teixeira hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth to lift the Rangers.

at Baltimore 7, Toronto 2: Kris Benson earned his first win since June 28, and Melvin Mora had four runs batted in to lead the Orioles. Benson (10-9) improved to 4-1 against the Blue Jays this season.

at Tampa Bay 6, Cleveland 5: Carl Crawford hit a two-run single that capped a three-run ninth inning. Crawford’s one-out single with the bases loaded against Jason Davis helped the Devil Rays win for only the 10th time in 33 games since the All-Star break.

at Minnesota 7, Chicago 3: The Twins’ bullpen limited the White Sox to one hit over 3 2/3 scoreless innings. The Twins cut Chicago’s lead in the AL wild-card race to one game.