The New York Yankees picked up their 10,000th victory on Thursday's 4-1 win against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Winning the said match allows the team to clinch an American League Wild Card berth, earning the Yankees their first playoff spot after being absent for three seasons.
Ending a rare two-year absence from the postseason, New York clinched an AL wild-card berth despite failing to win the first three games of the series. The team's consecutive years of failure to secure a spot was their first since the 1982-93 drought.
As mentioned, the recent win was also the team's 10,000th in their franchise history. The Yankees began playing on Thursday with a win-loss record of 9,999-7,567, which includes their early run as the New York Highlanders from 1903 to 1912. The Highlanders put up a 734-759 record over that span before transforming into the New York Yankees in 1913. Counting statistics as strictly the Yankees, the franchise would only have a record of 9,266-6,808 with 27 World Series championships, 40 pennants as well as 51 playoff appearances.
The team's first win as the Highlanders came on April 23, 1903, when they conquered the Washington Senators in a 7-2 win in Washington. As the Yankees, the team's first victory then came on April 15, 1913, in a 3-2 triumph over the Boston Red Sox held in the latter's home court.
Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia helped pick up the win, moving to 6-10 following his third start win in four outings. The 35-year-old lefthander allowed one run on six hits over innings, carrying over three strikeouts and three walks. Sabathia earned it before giving way to fellow pitcher Adam Warren who added his own three shutout innings before Dellin Betances delivered a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.
"It feels good. To be able to be on the mound and pitch well enough to get a win, you can't beat it. Especially for our 10,000th and to get in the playoffs, everything. It's just great," CC Sabathia said after their successful game.
Meanwhile, Yankees manager Joe Girardi is elated with the team's performance and glad to see his players enjoying. During the team's victory party, Girardi told NY Daily News that, "There's so much happiness in there; those guys are jumping around like little kids. That's what you want to see as a manager. You want them to enjoy this, because this is very difficult."
