HIP, HIP, JORGE! Top, from left, Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner, Andruw Jones and Derek Jeter cheer as Jorge Posada rips a go-ahead, two-run single in the eighth inning of last night’s 4-2 win over the Rays. The win completed a doubleheader sweep which, coupled with the Red Sox’s loss, clinched the AL East crown and prompted a celebration. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
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Call it the most important hit of the Yankees’ season.
That’s how Mark Teixeira dubbed it, anyway.
Bottom of the eighth inning, bases loaded, two outs, game tied 2-2, Jorge Posada at the plate, a division title in the balance.
And the embattled veteran delivered, smacking a pinch-hit, two-run single to give the Yankees a 4-2 win over the Rays, capping a doubleheader sweep in The Bronx, sealing another AL East crown and igniting a late-night celebration.
“The biggest hit of the season for us so far,” Teixeira said. “It’s a guy who’s been here a long time and won a lot of championships for this team.”
The Yankees officially will be a part of the postseason, with a shot at their 28th World Series title. The clinch came thanks to the doubleheader sweep, coupled with another Red Sox loss at Fenway Park, 6-4 to the Orioles. There was an on-field celebration after Rafael Soriano finished the ninth, with hugs and high fives and clubhouse festivities featuring 250 bottles of champagne.
It also featured manager Joe Girardi hearing from owner Hal Steinbrenner and other members of the Yankees front office.
“Just congrats,” Girardi said of the message. “The message to our club is we still need to win some games because we want to have home-field advantage.”
The Yankees entered yesterday needing exactly three specific outcomes to win the division — two wins over the Rays and a Boston loss with ace Josh Beckett on the mound. The Yankees did their part, knocking off the Rays 4-2 in both games, and Beckett and Co. obliged as well, blowing a 4-1 lead in the loss.
In a year-long divisional battle with their arch-rivals, the Yankees took over first place on Sept. 2 and have stayed on top since. Boston has dropped 16 of 21 while the Yankees are on a 17-8 tear.
“Nobody gave us a shot when we were in spring training, and here we are,” Mariano Rivera said. “I never had doubts. … We trust in ourselves, and we trust in what we have.”
The division title is the Yankees’ 12th since 1996 and they advance to the postseason for the 16th time in 17 years. They lead the Tigers by five games, though the Tigers hold the tiebreaker for home field should the teams finish with identical records. The Yankees have the tiebreaker advantage over the Rangers, who were five games back in the loss column, pending their game last night in Oakland.
Girardi, whose team is 50-27 in The Bronx, believes getting home field is critical.
“It’s real important,” he said, “because I really believe that we’re built around this ballpark.”
The Yankees will open the ALDS next Friday. Their potential opponents include the Rangers, Tigers and Angels — who are tied with the Rays, 21⁄2 behind the Red Sox in the wild-card race.
“Whoever we play, we play,” Alex Rodriguez said.
After the Yankees’ Game 1 victory clinched at least a wild-card spot, there was zero celebrating. The division was what they wanted.
“We still feel as though we didn’t accomplish anything yet,” Derek Jeter said between games. “Our goal is to win the division and we have not done that.”
Posada was the hero last night, a supreme moment for him in a season in which he’s lost his catching job and been demoted from regular DH duty.
“It’s not about me,” he said. “I got the hit to win the ballgame, but I’m proud of the team. I wouldn’t say it was an all-time moment, but it’s a pretty good moment.”
Now the Yankees will try to avenge last year’s ALCS loss.
“You just never know what’s going to happen in the playoffs, and last year left a bad taste in our mouths,” Teixeira said. “We just want to go in and be better.”
Additional reporting by Dan Martin.
mark.hale@nypost.com