The New York Yankees entered Wednesday night's game against the Red Sox tied for first place in AL East division and exited it the same way.
Powered by two Curtis Granderson home runs, the Yankees beat the Red Sox 5-4 in Fenway Park to hold pace with the Orioles.
Baltimore won 3-2 against Tampa earlier in the night to leave the two teams tied atop the AL East division with identical 80-62 records. The Rays are three games behind.
"It's playoff baseball," Girardi told the Associated Press. "You're playing in the playoffs right now. That's the way it is for us."
Yankee captain Derek Jeter appeared to injure himself in the eighth inning after running hard on a double-play groundout. Jeter stretched out at the last second to touch the base, but was called out. He began limping as he crossed back to the dugout.
"It's really not a thing," Jeter said, refusing to confirm any details about the injury. "They just said, 'Put ice on it [and] come back tomorrow.'"
He refused to come out of the game and most likely will play on Thursday. The Yankees can't afford many more injuries, especially to their captain. First baseman Mark Teixiera is still out for at least another week with a calf problem.
"I said, 'We're going to sit you out,'" Girardi told reporters, adding that Jeter had aggravated a previous injury. "It's not that serious. It's something we have to be aware of. But hopefully he's OK."
Jeter also had two more hits in the game, giving him 194 for the season and raising his batting average to .325, which is third best in the American League.
The Yankees relied heavily on the home run on Thursday, scoring all five runs off of long balls.
In the fourth inning, Granderson, who has been slumping mightily the past two months, lead off with a home run. After Alex Rodriguez singled, Robinson Cano hit a two-run homer to give the Yankees and 3-0 lead. It was the 30th home run of the season for Cano, which is a career high.
In the seventh inning Granderson hit another home run following a Derek Jeter single that gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead. They would need the extra runs.
Boston came back in the seventh and scored two runs off the Yankee bullpen, including one off a Mike Aviles double to left field. Closer Rafael Soriano gave up a solo home run to Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the ninth, but hunkered down to get the next two outs for his 37th save of the year.
Nick Swisher had a solid game for the Yankees, adding three hits, including two doubles. The Yankees should be most excited about Granderson, who hit just .196 in August with six home runs. He already has three in September and is hitting for a .333 average in the past week.
The Yankees have hit twice as many home runs as the Red Sox in 14 games this year and have 34 in the season series.
Yankee starter David Phelps pitched an excellent game, allowing only one run over 5 2/3 innings and earning his fourth victory. In Phelps' last start against the Orioles he allowed five runs in only four innings of work in the Yankee loss.
For a September matchup against longtime rivals, the game lost some of its luster due to the fact that the Red Sox are far out of the playoff hunt. But the team also relished the opportunity to play spoiler for the Yankees and almost did just that.
New York also announced that Ivan Nova, who was injured and hasn't pitched since Aug. 21, will start on Saturday in place of Freddy Garcia.
Garcia has struggled lately and will move to the bullpen. The Yankees hope Garcia can help eat up innings, including when pitcher Andy Pettitte comes back from an ankle injury he suffered in June. He is expected to return next week.
Thursday's finale will match Phil Hughes (14-12) of the Yankees against Boston's Felix Doubront.
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