ab r h bi ab r h bi

Russo ss 5 1 1 0 Thompson cf 4 2 2 0

golson rf 4 2 2 1 Dobbs rf 4 1 3 4

Montero dh 5 0 0 1 Mayberry lf 5 1 0 0

Vazquez 1b 2 2 1 1 Tracy 1b 4 1 2 1

Huffman lf 2 1 1 3 Ransom 3b 4 1 3 1

Gorecki cf 4 0 1 0 Savery dh 5 0 2 0

Laird 3b 5 0 1 0 Chavez 2b 4 0 0 0

Hammock 2b 4 0 0 0 Hoover c 4 1 1 1

Moeller c 3 1 1 0 Bocock ss 4 1 2 1

Totals 34 7 8 6 Totals 38 8 15 8

Yankees 003 112 000 - 7

Lehigh Valley 130 001 12x - 8

DP: Yankees 1, Lehigh Valley 2. E: Hammock, Ransom. LOB: Yankees 10, Lehigh Valley 10. 2B: Golson, Ransom. 3B: Thompson, Hoover. HR: Huffman, Golson, Dobbs. SB: Mayberry, Bocock.

Yankees IP H R ER BB K

Aceves 1.1 2 1 1 1 1

Sanit 0.2 2 3 3 1 0

Phelps 5.0 8 2 1 2 5

Ring, BS, L, 2-1 0.2 2 2 2 0 0

Segovia 0.1 1 0 0 0 1

Lehigh Valley IP H R ER BB K

Mazone 4 4 4 4 5 4

Duckworth 3 4 3 2 4 1

Villarreal, W, 4-3 1 0 0 0 1 0

Mathieson, S, 26 1 0 0 0 0 2

WP: Ring, Duckworth.T: 3:37. A: 9,291. How they scored

Lehigh Valley first: Aceves pitching. Thompson tripled. Dobbs singled, Thompson scored. Lehigh Valley 1, Yankees 0.

Lehigh Valley third: Sanit pitching. Bocock singled. Thompson walked. Dobbs homered, Bocock and Thompson scored. Lehigh Valley 4, Yankees 0.

Yankees third: Mazone pitching. Golson walked. Vazquez walked. Huffman homered, Golson and Vazquez scored. Lehigh Valley 4, Yankees 3.

Yankees fourth: Golson homered. Yankees 4, Lehigh Valley 4.

Yankees fifth: Duckworth pitching. Vazquez walked. Huffman walked. Gorecki grounded out. Laird reached on error by 3B Ransom, Vazquez scored. Yankees 5, Lehigh Valley 4.

Yankees sixth: Moeller walked. Russon singled. Golson grounded out. Montero grounded out, Moeller scored. Vazquez singled, Russo scored. Yankees 7, Lehigh Valley 4.

Lehigh Valley sixth: Hoover tripled. Bocock singled, Hoover scored. Yankees 7, Lehigh Valley 5.

Lehigh Valley seventh: Ransom singled. Savery singled, Ransom advanced on fielding error by 2B Hammock. Hoover grounded out, Ransom scored. Yankees 7, Lehigh Valley 6.

Lehigh Valley eighth: Ring pitching. Dobbs singled. Mayberry grounded into force out, stole second, advanced on wild pitch. Tracy singled, Mayberry scored. Segovia replaced Ring. Ransom doubled, Tracy scored. Lehigh Valley 8, Yankees 7.

Inside pitch

Player of the game: Lehigh Valley RF Greg Dobbs singled to put the 'Pigs on the board in the first and homered to give them a 4-0 lead in the third.

Turning point: Royce Ring started the eighth inning, and allowed singles to Dobbs and Andy Tracy that came back to haunt the Yankees in the end.

Highlight: Greg Golson homered in the fourth to tie the game at 4.

Big picture: A day after the Yankees clinched the IL North, they fell behind in a game where they had potential to stay on top.

Today's game

Yankees (82-53) vs. Lehigh Valley (54-82), 7:05 p.m., Coca-Cola Park

Pitching Matchup: Yankees - Lance Pendleton (2-0, 3.86) vs. Lehigh Valley - LH Nate Robertson (0-1, 7.71)

Radio: Mike Vander Woude calls the action on The Game, 1280, 1340, 1400 and 1590 AM.

International League

North

W L Pct. GB

z-SWB Yankees 82 53 .607 -

Buffalo (Mets) 72 64 .529 10.5

Syracuse (Nationals) 71 65 .522 11.5

Pawtucket (Red Sox) 63 74 .460 20

Lehigh Valley (Phillies) 54 83 .394 29

Rochester (Twins) 48 89 .350 35

South

W L Pct. GB

z-Durham (Rays) 84 52 .618 -

Gwinnett (Braves) 69 67 .507 15

Charlotte (White Sox) 65 72 .474 19.5

Norfolk (Orioles) 62 75 .453 22.5

West

W L Pct. GB

Louisville (Reds) 76 60 .559 -

Columbus (Indians) 76 61 .555 .5

Indianapolis (Pirates) 68 69 .496 8.5

Toledo (Tigers) 65 71 .478 11

z-clinched playoff spot

Monday's Games

Columbus 6, Indianapolis 4

Gwinnett 4, Norfolk 0

Lehigh Valley 8, SWB Yankees 7

Toledo 6, Louisville 2

Pawtucket 2, Rochester 1

Syracuse 4, Buffalo 1, 10 innings

Charlotte 8, Durham 4

Today's Games

Louisville at Toledo, 6:30 p.m.

Columbus at Indianapolis, 7 p.m.

Syracuse at Buffalo, 7:05 p.m.

SWB Yankees at Lehigh Valley, 7:05 p.m.

Charlotte at Durham, 7:05 p.m.

Rochester at Pawtucket, 7:05 p.m.

Gwinnett at Norfolk, 7:15 p.m.

Wednesday's Games

SWB Yankees at Buffalo, 5:35 p.m., 1st game

SWB Yankees at Buffalo, 8:05 p.m., 2nd game

Louisville at Toledo, 6:30 p.m.

Columbus at Indianapolis, 7 p.m.

Rochester at Syracuse, 7 p.m.

Lehigh Valley at Pawtucket, 7:05 p.m.

Charlotte at Durham, 7:05 p.m.

Gwinnett at Norfolk, 7:15 p.m.

Yankees 5, Buffalo 1

Box score

Buffalo Yankees

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Feliciano rf 4 0 1 0 Russo 2b 4 1 2 0

Green ss 3 1 1 0 Golson cf 3 1 1 0

Duda lf 3 0 0 0 Montero c 4 2 2 4

Evans 1b 3 0 0 0 Miranda 1b 4 0 0 0

Adams 2b 2 0 0 1 Vazquez dh 4 0 0 0

Pascucci dh 3 0 0 0 Curtis rf 3 1 1 1

Niewnhuis cf 2 0 0 0 Huffman lf 4 0 2 0

Cervenak 3b 4 0 0 0 Laird 3b 3 0 0 0

House c 3 0 0 0 Bruntlett ss 3 0 0 0

Totals 27 1 2 1 Totals 33 5 8 5

Buffalo 000 000 001 - 1

Yankees 301 001 00x - 5

DP: Yankees 1. LOB: Buffalo 7, Yankees 5. HR: Montero 2 (18), Curtis (4). SF: Adams.

Buffalo IP H R ER BB K

Anoninni L, 1-3 6 7 5 5 1 6

Cordero 1 1 0 0 0 0

Pettyjohn 1 0 0 0 0 1

Yankees IP H R ER BB K

Mitchell W, 1-0 7 1 0 0 4 5

Whelan 1 0 0 0 0 0

Wordekemper 0 1 1 1 2 0

Albaladejo S, 43 1 0 0 0 0 1

Wordekemper pitched to 3 batters in 9th.

T: 2:37. A: 5,787. How they scored

Yankees first: Antonini pitching. Russo singled. Golson walked, Russo to second. Montero homered, Russo and Golson scored.

Yankees 3, Bisons 0.

Yankees third: Montero homered.

Yankees 4, Bisons 0.

Yankees sixth: Miranda lined out. Vazquez struck out. Curtis homered.

Yankees 5, Bisons 0.

Buffalo ninth: Wordekemper pitching. Green singled. Duda walked, Green to second. Evans walked, Green to third, Duda to second. Albaladejo relieved Wordekemper. Adams hit a sacrifice fly, Green scored.

Yankees 5, Bisons 1.

Inside pitch

Player of the game: Right-hander D.J. Mitchell made his second Triple-A start a memorable one, pitching the Yankees to an International League North Division clinching win with seven innings of one-hit, shutout ball.

Turning point: It was over early. Jesus Montero hit a three-run home run over the left field wall in the first inning to give the Yankees an early lead they'd never relinquish.

Highlight: The Yankees fell one homer shy of tying their season high in that category, with Montero adding a solo shot in the third and Colin Curtis going deep in the sixth.

Big picture: The Yankees did it, clinching their fourth straight division title. For once, there is no big picture. There's only that fact, and a celebration of another successful season.

Today's game

Yankees (82-52) vs. Lehigh Valley (53-82), 7:05 p.m., Coca-Cola Park

Radio: Mike Vander Woude calls the action on The Game, 1280, 1340, 1400 and 1590 AM.

Pitching matchup: IronPigs LHP Brian Mazone (6-13, 3.74) vs. Yankees RHP David Phelps (3-2, 3.45).

Yankee clippings

The Baseball Fever Booster Club announced the winners of its annual awards before Sunday's game. Reliever Jonathan Albaladejo was named Pitcher of the Year. Catcher Jesus Montero got Player of the Year honors, and reliever Zack Segovia earned the Greg Legg Award for community service. … Colin Curtis' homer in the sixth inning gave him a 10-game hitting streak. … The Yankees went 6-1 on their homestand.

IL standings

North

W L Pct. GB

Scr/WB (Yankees) 82 52 .612 -

Buffalo (Mets) 72 63 .533 10½

Syracuse (Nationals) 70 65 .519 12½

Pawtucket (Red Sox) 62 74 .456 21

Lehigh Valley (Phillies) 53 83 .390 30

Rochester (Twins) 48 88 .353 35

South

W L Pct. GB

Durham (Rays) 84 51 .622 -

Gwinnett (Braves) 68 67 .504 16

Charlotte (White Sox) 64 72 .471 20½

Norfolk (Orioles) 62 74 .456 22½

West

W L Pct. GB

Louisville (Reds) 76 59 .563 -

Columbus (Indians) 75 61 .551 1½

Indianapolis (Pirates) 68 68 .500 8½

Toledo (Tigers) 64 71 .474 12

Sunday's Games

Pawtucket 6, Rochester 3

Gwinnett 8, Norfolk 4

Louisville 8, Toledo 0

Durham 8, Charlotte 5

Syracuse 3, Lehigh Valley 2

Columbus 10, Indianapolis 5

SWB Yankees 5, Buffalo 1

Today's Games

Columbus at Indianapolis, 7 p.m.

Norfolk at Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m.

SWB Yankees at Lehigh Valley, 7:05 p.m.

Toledo at Louisville, 7:05 p.m.

Rochester at Pawtucket, 7:05 p.m.

Syracuse at Buffalo, 7:05 p.m.

Charlotte at Durham, 7:05 p.m.

Tuesday's Games

Louisville at Toledo, 6:30 p.m.

Columbus at Indianapolis, 7 p.m.

Syracuse at Buffalo, 7:05 p.m.

SWB Yankees at Lehigh Valley, 7:05 p.m.

Rochester at Pawtucket, 7:05 p.m.

Charlotte at Durham, 7:05 p.m.

Gwinnett at Norfolk, 7:15 p.m.

Probable pitchers

Today: IronPigs LHP Brian Mazone (6-13, 3.74) vs. Yankees RHP David Phelps (3-2, 3.45), 7:05 p.m.

Tuesday: IronPigs TBA vs. Yankees RHP Lance Pendleton (2-0, 3.86), 7:05 p.m.

Pigs points

Former Yankees infielder Cody Ransom is hitting .245 with 16 homers for the Pigs. ... Montrose native and Pigs OF Rich Thompson has three hits, three runs and three stolen bases in his last three games. ... Former Red Barons pitcher Brandon Duckworth has a 2.47 ERA in his last 10 games.

When he walked into the clubhouse after his night on the mound was done, D.J. Mitchell insisted that was the moment he knew.

The Yankees were about to achieve their season-long goal of winning the International League North Division championship. And in his second start at Triple-A, he's the one who pitched them there.

Mitchell threw seven innings of brilliant one-hit, shutout ball, and three home runs gave him more than enough runs to secure a 5-1 pennant-clinching win over Buffalo on a picturesque Sunday night at PNC Field.

"They should be excited," Yankees manager Dave Miley said of his team, which was celebrating outside his office. "It's a long, hard road for every team in the league. To be able to accomplish something only four teams accomplish in the league, they ought to be proud of themselves."

Like a machine, Mitchell plowed through the Buffalo order before giving way to the bullpen in the eighth inning. It was a composed, calculated effort that saw just one Bisons baserunner reach second against him, but Mitchell said the fact that a title was hanging in the balance didn't drive him at all.

"I didn't even think about it," the right-hander said. "Honestly, all day, I didn't think about it at all. Not until I came in here and saw plastic everywhere."

Drenched in juice and smiling proudly, Miley observed that Sunday's win might have been a microcosm of the Yankees' season, one that saw a seemingly unending string of player moves, a few injuries and plenty of dependence on youngsters.

In fact, the youngest of the Yankees had rather inarguably the biggest hit of the game.

With two on and nobody out in the first, Jesus Montero sent a pitch from Buffalo southpaw Matt Antonini over the left field wall, a three-run blast that gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead and had the excited players in the dugout seeing possibilities of celebrating at home.

"Today," Montero said, "was a special day."

He made it a memorable one for himself in the third inning. Facing Antonini again, he launched another homer, this one a line drive that sliced over the right-center field wall, to make it 4-0.

"I feel like we wanted to win it today, to do special things," the exuberant 20-year-old said. "Thank God, I hit that ball really good."

The Yankees' capped their scoring in the sixth, thanks to Colin Curtis.

Representing the Yankees who spent significant time in the big leagues this season, Curtis ripped an Antonini pitch deep over the boards in right field to make it 5-0.

One of four Scranton/Wilkes-Barre regulars who has spent at least part of the season in the big leagues, Curtis said the keys to getting as far as the Yankees have aren't exactly a secret. There's a consistency that comes with togetherness. And there's the pitching, which Mitchell handled Sunday.

"It's a good feeling," Curtis said. "Guys have been playing hard all year, and that's why it has been a good ballclub all year. I think we just play together well."

The win, like the championship run, didn't come without some nervous moments. In the ninth inning, reliever Eric Wordekemper loaded the bases with one out on a Lucas Duda single and two walks.

But in perhaps the night's most fitting moment, the Yankees went to closer Jonathan Albaladejo to close out a big win.

Russ Adams hit a sacrifice fly to get the Bisons within one, but Albaladejo - who blew his second save of the season on Saturday night against the Bisons - finished the job as he has all season, getting veteran Mike Cervenak to fly out to end the game and spark the celebration.

"Every time something like that happens, you want to be out there the next day," Albaladejo said. "I still had a little thing in my chest that I needed to get out."

The win gave the Yankees their fourth straight North Division title, one in each season since Scranton/Wilkes-Barre became New York's Triple-A affiliate. And for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, it marked the fifth straight celebration for the franchise.

For Miley, who has been in the middle of the celebrations before, they never get old.

"Everyone asks if it's still sweet," Miley said. "I think it gets sweeter every time you win."

Contact the writer: dcollins@timesshamrock.com