Yankees pound Pedro, Red Sox, extend East lead

The New York Yankees battered Pedro Martinez, chasing Boston out of town with another rout.

Gary Sheffield, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada homered off an ineffective Martinez, and Mike Mussina gave the resilient Yankees another excellent outing Sunday as New York opened a 4 1/2 -game lead in the A.L. East with an 11-1 victory.

“They put us in the rearview mirror a little bit,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

Alex Rodriguez also connected in the second consecutive offensive outburst by the Yankees, who outscored their longtime rivals 25-5 the past two days after a deflating loss Friday night, when star closer Mariano Rivera blew a ninth-inning lead.

“We take a lot of pride in coming back with intensity,” Rodriguez said.

After taking two of three in the series, the Yankees have some breathing room — their largest lead over Boston since before games of Aug. 31. New York has 13 games remaining as it closes in on its seventh straight division title, while the Red Sox play 14 more.

“We just feel like we’re the best team in baseball,” Sheffield said.

The teams play another three-game set next weekend at Fenway Park. By then, the Red Sox might be too far back to catch New York, though they still have a 5 1/2 -game lead over Anaheim in the wild-card race.

Faith or a pennant race?

Dodgers slugger Shawn Green does not want to discuss whether he’ll play next weekend in two key games against the Giants on Yom Kippur, the holiest holiday on the Jewish calendar.

Los Angeles leads San Francisco by 2 1/2 games in the N.L. West with 13 games left.

Yom Kippur starts at sunset Friday, and the three-game series at San Francisco starts that night. Saturday’s game was given a 1:05 p.m. PDT start because it will be televised by Fox, and the Jewish Day of Atonement does not end until sunset that night.

“I’m not talking about it yet,” Green said. “I don’t want the media making a big deal out of it.”

Clearing the bases

The Rangers recalled outfielder Chad Allen and right-hander Kameron Loe from Triple-A Oklahoma and placed pitcher Juan Dominguez on the 60-day disabled list. … The Blue Jays purchased the contracts of left-hander Gustavo Chacin and right-hander Brandon League from Double-A New Hampshire, transferred outfielder Frank Catalanotto from the 15-day to the 60-day DL and designated right-hander Aquilino Lopez for assignment.