NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees can achieve two milestones with one more victory: clinching their seventh straight AL East title and reaching 100 wins in three straight seasons for the first time.
Behind a pair of saves by Mariano Rivera, Jon Lieber's 100th career win and the hitting of Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui, the Yankees swept a doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins 5-3 and 5-4 Wednesday night.
New York (99-59) opened a four-game lead over second-place Boston (95-63), and would clinch the division with one more win or one Red Sox loss. Both teams are assured of no worse than the AL wild-card berth.
"We said all along if Boston wins 110, 115 games, they deserve the division," Rodriguez said. "We took care of our business on this side, and we have one more to go."
Rodriguez hit a tiebreaking, two-run triple in the seventh inning of the opener, then had an opposite-field homer to right in the second game, his 36th homer of the season. Matsui hit a solo homer in the opener, then added an opposite-field, three-run homer in the nightcap, his 30th.
New York can clinch at home Thursday against the Twins before heading to Toronto for a three-game series that closes the regular season.
"We definitely want to do it tomorrow," said Rivera, who raised his career-high saves total to 53.
Minnesota (90-68) has lost six of eight since clinching its third straight AL Central title. The Twins are vying with the eventual AL West winner -- Anaheim, Oakland or Texas -- for home-field advantage in the first round.
"We had two bad innings, we lost two ballgames," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
In the second game, Lieber (14-8) allowed four runs -- two earned -- and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Kyle Lohse (8-12) gave up five runs, one of them unearned, in six innings.
"I know that I'm much better than what I showed," Lieber said. "I was very lucky."
Notes
- Yankees manager Joe Torre plans to use RHP Kevin Brown in relief this week, a possibly a prelude to his postseason role. He warmed up in the second game but didn't enter.
- Derek Jeter threw out Michael Cuddyer at first base from the outfield grass in the second game.
- New York's 238 homers are two shy of the club record, set in 1961.
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