The New York Yankees registered a comfortable 10-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Robinson Cano, Russell Martin, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson all starred for the Yankees.

They have an impressive record (92- 67) this season in the American League East. With two more games to go, the Yankees have first place all to themselves.

"There's a lot of teams that would love to be in our position right now," the Associated Press quoted Mark Teixeira as saying. "You can count all of the things that have gone wrong but, hey, we're right here where we want to be.

"And if we keep winning, we'll be division champions and have a chance to make a run in the playoffs."

The New York Yankees made the playoffs for the 17th time in the last 18 years. They would be eyeing their 13th division title in 17 years by winning the three-game series against the Red Sox. The Baltimore Orioles (92-68) lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 dropping to second place. The crowd at the Yankee Stadium greeted this with cheers when the score was posted on the screen.

Yankee manager Joe Girardi said: "That's what you want. That's what you hope that you have all the time when you're playing this game, that you can control your own destiny.

"I'm not worried about Friday. I'm worried about today, and now that today is over I'm worried about tomorrow. I think if you start thinking too far ahead, you can get yourself in a bad position."

For the fifth consecutive year, Sabathia reached 200 innings and stayed for 103 pitches.

Sabathia confirmed that he would be ready on Friday of needed. "It's time to put up or shut up," he said. "I want the ball."

Robinson Cano added: "It's hard to avoid because it's right on the board. We don't need to worry about the Orioles or anybody else. We need to win."