Red Sox clinch AL East plum

NEW YORK – Even though they let a win get away Wednesday night, the Boston Red Sox locked up something more important. And as far as they were concerned, an AL East title was certainly worth celebrating.

Boston clinched the division championship despite wasting a three-run lead in the ninth inning of a 5-3 loss to the Yankees. David Ortiz and the Red Sox, who last weekend secured at least a wild-card spot in the playoffs, were assured the crown when Baltimore rallied for a 3-2 win at second-place Toronto nearly 30 minutes before New York completed its comeback against Craig Kimbrel (2-5) and Joe Kelly.

“In the end, the one inning, it doesn’t take away from 158 games played to date. They should be extremely proud for winning a very, very difficult division,” manager John Farrell said.

Though the final score in Toronto was posted on the out-of-town scoreboard for all to see, the Red Sox hardly seemed to notice as players draped their arms over the dugout railing and rooted for Kimbrel in the ninth.

Farrell and other Red Sox said they knew the Blue Jays had lost and what that meant, but they were focused on closing out their own game at the time.