NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Yankees rallied to beat the Baltimore Orioles in sensational fashion on Wednesday, getting two home runs from Raul Ibanez in a 3-2 win that put them on the brink of reaching the American League Championship Series.

The 40-year-old Ibanez, pinch-hitting for slumping slugger Alex Rodriguez, delivered a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning and then led off the 12th with another blast deep into the right-field seats to win it.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Time is working against the aging core of the New York Yankees, but a rejuvenated Derek Jeter and a flourishing Robinson Cano have them believing they can add to their record haul with a 28th World Series.

Team captain Jeter is 38, slugger Alex Rodriguez is 37 and key pitcher Andy Pettitte is 40, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi prefers to extol the big-game experience they bring to the diamond rather than dwell on how close to retirement they are.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Single-game playoffs have produced some great moments in Major League Baseball (MLB) and a new postseason format for 2012 now guarantees two of them, with Texas, Baltimore, St. Louis and Atlanta all on the spot.

With a second wildcard team added in both leagues, the postseason opens Friday with one-game showdowns between the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals and host Atlanta Braves, as well as last season’s American League champion Texas Rangers against the visiting Baltimore Orioles.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson gave up a chance to tie Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera for the home run title on Wednesday, unaware he was just one big blast shy from sharing honors in the long-ball category.

Granderson slugged a three-run homer in the second frame and a solo blast in the seventh inning of New York’s 14-2 rout of the Boston Red Sox that clinched the American League East title for the Yankees and gave him a career high 43 homers this year.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera became the first Triple Crown winner in 45 years, while the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics claimed division titles on a wild final day to Major League Baseball’s regular season.

The end of MLB’s 162-game, six-month marathon produced special entries into the record books, as Cabrera ended the longest Triple Crown drought ever and postseason match-ups were finally settled in the first year of the double wildcards.

MEDINAH, Illinois (Reuters) – They wore the colors loved by the late Seve Ballesteros and a silhouette of him on their sleeves, and then Team Europe rode his spirit on Sunday to the greatest Ryder Cup comeback victory ever.

“We wanted to do it for Seve,” said Englishman Luke Donald, who started Europe on their way to erasing a massive four-point deficit with a 2&1 victory over American Bubba Watson.

MEDINAH, Illinois, Sept 30 (Reuters) – They wore the colours loved by the late Seve Ballesteros and a silhouette of him on their sleeves, and then Team Europe rode his spirit on Sunday to the greatest Ryder Cup comeback victory ever.

“We wanted to do it for Seve,” said Englishman Luke Donald, who started Europe on their way to erasing a massive four-point deficit with a 2&1 victory over American Bubba Watson.

MEDINAH, Illinois (Reuters) – Rory McIlroy threw a little scare into Team Europe when he made his Ryder Cup tee time with just 10 minutes to spare Sunday but nonchalantly went ahead and contributed a point to Europe’s rousing comeback win.

The natural ease with which he achieved his 2&1 victory over 2011 PGA champion Keegan Bradley was nothing like the high speed drive to Medinah compliments of an Illinois state trooper.

MEDINAH, Illinois, Sept 30 (Reuters) – An ecstatic Martin Kaymer said he had discovered the true meaning of the Ryder Cup after sinking the decisive putt to cap a sensational comeback victory for Europe over the United States on Sunday.

The German held his nerve to make a five-foot par putt on the final hole of his singles match with Steve Stricker to ensure that Europe retained the trophy they won in Wales two years ago.

MEDINAH, Illinois (Reuters) – They wore the colors loved by the late Seve Ballesteros and a silhouette of him on their sleeves, and then Team Europe rode his spirit on Sunday to the greatest Ryder Cup comeback victory ever.

“We wanted to do it for Seve,” said Englishman Luke Donald, who started Europe on their way to erasing a massive four-point deficit with a 2&1 victory over American Bubba Watson.