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Yankees send Jeter into retirement with victory over BoSox

Sep 29, 2014 - 2:18 AM Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Derek Jeter singled in a run during his final at-bat in a big league uniform and the Yankees sent the future Hall of Fame shortstop into retirement with a 9-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday at Fenway Park.

Jeter was honored by the Red Sox prior to the game and was in the lineup as the designated hitter in his customary No. 2 slot in the batting order.

He hit a stinging line drive off Boston starter Clay Buchholz in the first inning, but it was right at shortstop Jemile Weeks. In the third inning, with a runner on third, Jeter hit a chopper off the plate toward third base and legged out the infield single to chase home Ichiro Suzuki, part of a four-run inning that gave the Yankees a lead they would not relinquish.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi motioned toward Jeter at first to see if he wanted to exit and the Yankees captain trotted off the field for the last time. He motioned toward the Red Sox bench, then shook hands with Buchholz as he headed toward the dugout and received nothing but cheers from the Fenway faithful.

"To be honest, I tried to chop it off the plate and get a hit," Jeter joked after the game during a press conference. "I knew that was my last at-bat and I was trying to get a hit. I'm just happy that I ended my career with a hit."

Jeter finished his brilliant 20-year career with 3,465 hits -- sixth on the all-time list. A 14-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, he will finish his career a .310 lifetime hitter in 2,747 games.

"It felt like the time was right," Jeter said about how he felt when taking off the uniform for the last time. "My emotions were so all over the place on Thursday in New York. When I got here I was ready. I was ready for my career to be over with. I'm ready for this to be the end."

Suzuki, likely in his final game with the Yankees, knocked in two runs and Jose Pirela also drove in two during a five-run seventh for New York (84-78). The Yankees won two of the last three in the weekend set and finished second in the American League East.

Mookie Betts and Dan Butler each drove in two runs during a five-run seventh for Boston (71-91), which followed up a 2013 World Series championship by finishing last in the AL East for the second time in three seasons.

"We know where our shortcomings have been this year and we have a clear to-do list," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "How we get to that point remains to be seen."

Jeter's final game overshadowed a stellar performance by New York starter Michael Pineda, who was back on the mound at Fenway for the first time since being ejected for having pine tar on his neck in April.

Pineda (5-5), who served a suspension for his actions, was charged with a run on three hits. He struck out 10 and did not walk a batter, lowering his ERA for the season to 1.89 in 13 starts.

Buchholz (8-11) allowed four runs on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts over six innings to absorb the loss.

The Yankees didn't have a baserunner against Buchholz through the first two innings, then got a leadoff walk from Francisco Cervelli and a one-out single by Pirela in the third. Both scored on Suzuki's triple to the triangle in right-center field and Jeter knocked in Suzuki.

When play resumed following Jeter's elongated exit, pinch runner Brian McCann took third on Brett Gardner's double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Mark Teixeira for a 4-0 advantage.

The Yankees tacked on five in the seventh once Buchholz left the contest, as Pirela doubled in two and scored on a single by John Ryan Murphy. Austin Romine added an RBI double and Chase Headley singled in a run for a 9-0 cushion.

Boston made it interesting with five in the home half. Pineda left after yielding a one-out single to Allen Craig and the New York bullpen gave away most of the lead. Esmil Rogers surrendered Butler's double with the bases loaded, as an error allowed the third run to score, and Betts doubled in two more against Adam Warren, who finally recorded the third out when Ryan Lavarnway grounded out.

Warren set down Boston in order in the eighth and David Phelps did the same in the ninth.

Game Notes

The Red Sox struck out 15 times ... The Yankees were 7-for-11 with runners in scoring position, a situation that haunted them most of the season ... The pregame ceremony featured several Red Sox greats, including Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Luis Tiant, Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield, as well as Boston legends from other sports -- Bobby Orr of the Bruins, Paul Pierce of the Celtics and Troy Brown of the Patriots ... New York won the season series, 12-7 ... The 2014 postseason will be the first without either the Yankees or Red Sox since 1993.