Teixeira savors game-winning homer

NEW YORK — The ball rocketed through the mist toward right field, and as Mark Teixeira tracked its flight, he spread his arms wide to embrace a memory that he will savor for the rest of his life. If this turns out to be his last trip around the bases, a walk-off grand slam to beat the Red Sox will do just fine.

Teixeira connected for his 409th home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Wednesday, lifting the Yankees to a 5-3 victory that staved off playoff elimination at the last possible moment. Remarkably, the shot off Joe Kelly was Teixeira’s first regular-season walk-off home run, joining a game-winning blast in Game 2 of the 2009 American League Division Series.

“I always seemed to hit those go-ahead homers on the road, but I never seemed to hit them at home,” said Teixeira, who had the most homers without a regular-season walk-off entering Wednesday. “I’m like, ‘Hey, if I finish my career and my only walk-off was in the playoffs, I’ll take it.’ I’ll trade that for 10 walk-offs during the regular season. But this was a good one.”

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The Yankees had been limited to one hit through eight innings and the scoreboard-watching Red Sox clinched the AL East title even before taking the field for the bottom of the ninth, by virtue of the Orioles’ 3-2 victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto.

A Yankees loss would have eliminated …

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