ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – George Steinbrenner moved to the front row of the owner’s private suite, and the celebration was on.

The New York Yankees clinched their 13th straight postseason appearance, beating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 12-4 Wednesday night to earn at least a wild-card berth in the playoffs.

The victory, New York’s 15th in 20 games, eliminated defending AL champion Detroit from postseason contention and set up a probable first-round matchup with Cleveland, the Central champion. The Yankees are three games behind Boston with four games left, so New York’s streak of nine consecutive AL East titles is likely to end.

New York, just 21-29 before play on May 30, went 70-38 after that. The Yankees, who hugged each other on the field and in the dugout following the final out, have made the playoffs every year since 1995, and their streak of 13 consecutive trips is one shy of the record set by the Atlanta Braves from 1991-2005.

The Los Angeles Angels already have clinched the AL West, so all four AL playoff teams were decided before any spot in the NL was clinched.

Jeter hit a solo homer off J.P. Howell (1-6) in the fourth and added a sacrifice fly in the fifth to support right-hander Chien-Ming Wang (19-7), who became the first Yankees pitcher to win at least 19 games in consecutive seasons since Tommy John won 21 in 1979 and 22 in 1980.