NEW YORK (AP) Luis Severino pitched five-hit ball for six innings Sunday, Dustin Ackley homered to lift New York's late-waking offense and the Yankees moved closer to a playoff berth with a 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Severino (5-3) induced three double plays in shutting down the White Sox in his 10th big leaguer start, helping the Yankees cut their magic number for clinching at least a wild card to three and move within one of the franchise's 10,000th regular-season victory.
The crowd of 38,690 on a crisp September afternoon pushed attendance at Yankee Stadium over 3 million for the 17th straight year ((3,036,446) with four home dates left. With New York going 3 for 19 with runners in scoring position, the Bronx ballpark was absent of much late-season buzz.
Justin Wilson gave up a homer to pinch-hitter Avisail Garcia the seventh. Dellin Betances worked the eighth and Bryan Mitchell finished as New York improved to a major league-best 65-2 when leading after six innings.
The White Sox finished their road schedule 36-45, three wins better than last season.
Brian McCann had a sacrifice fly in the first inning off Erik Johnson (3-1) that was set up by a leadoff walk and first baseman Jose Abreu's errors on consecutive plays, the second two-error game of Abreu's major league career.
The Yankees repeatedly wasted chances against Johnson, who was making his fifth start this season. New York was 0 for 9 with RISP through four innings.
Ackley with a drive into the second deck in right leading off the sixth to make it 2-0. He has 11 hits in his last 28 at-bats (.392), putting himself in contention for a postseason roster spot.
Slade Heathcott scored on a passed ball in the sixth, and Jacoby Ellsbury had an RBI single in the seventh. Greg Bird drove in one in the eighth with a single and Heathcott had a sacrifice fly.
Severino got into trouble in the fifth, when the White Sox got a pair of leadoff singles, and in the sixth when Chicago put two on with one out. Each time the 21-year-old rookie got a double play to get out of it.
Melky Cabrera grounded to shortstop Didi Gregorius on Severino's 99th and final pitch for an inning-ending double play. Cabrera also ended the first with a grounder to Gregorius for another DP.
TRAINING ROOM
White Sox: DH Adam LaRoche (sore right knee) was out of the lineup after playing Saturday. He played every other game in this series after sitting from Sept. 13 to Thursday's series opener.
Yankees: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (right hamstring) threw in the outfield and said ''I don't have a problem throwing a ball.'' Tanaka is set to do fielding drills Monday. Manager Joe Girardi said Thursday would be the cutoff day to get Tanaka one more start before he gets the ball in a potential wild-card game Oct. 6. Otherwise, Tanaka could get an inning or two next weekend to prepare him for the one-game playoff.
UP NEXT
White Sox: RHP Jeff Samardzija (10-13) is coming off a one-hit shutout at Detroit, but he's 0-3 with an 8.15 ERA in three starts against Kansas City this season.
Yankees: RHP Ivan Nova (6-9), recently dropped from the rotation in his return from Tommy John surgery, will make a spot start as New York switches Sox and hosts Boston. Nova was 1-5 in his last six starts. Opponents were batting .301 against him in that span.
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