Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

A month past his 40th birthday, Jorge Posada walked up to home plate and found himself in a position so familiar, yet so different.

A starter no more, a champion still.  Posada came off the bench and helped the Yankees to yet another first-place finish, hitting a tiebreaking, two-run single in the eighth inning Wednesday night. The big hit propelled New York to sweep the Tampa Bay Rays by identical 4-2 scores in a day-night doubleheader, clinching the AL East title.

So filled with emotion was Posada, he was sure the game was over when his bases-loaded hit bounced into right field as pinch-runner Greg Golson came home from third.

“I thought it was the bottom of the ninth, to tell the truth,” Posada said. “Then I saw Tex (Mark Teixeira) scoring from second base, and I was like, ‘What’s going on?'”

For the Rays, it was a damaging day as they missed a chance to move up on Boston in the AL wild-card race. The Red Sox lost to Baltimore 6-4, but still extended their lead over Tampa Bay to 2½ games. The Los Angeles Angels also are 2½ games behind.

(Story Continues…)
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