updated 1:39 p.m. ET Aug. 22, 2006

The New York Yankees celebrated in the dugout as if they’d just clinched a playoff berth.

In a way, they’ve done everything but.

Hugging and shaking hands after a demoralizing five-game sweep of the rival Red Sox, New York took a season-high 6½-game lead in the AL East with a 2-1 victory over Boston on Monday. The Yankees have never squandered a lead that large, and they hadn’t swept Boston in five games in more than half a century.

“A sweep in Boston?” winning pitcher Cory Lidle said, pausing before breaking out in a big smile. “Pretty awesome.”

After outscoring the Red Sox 47-25 in four games over three days and two early mornings, the Yankees rediscovered their pitching to win the sleepy series finale at Fenway Park.

“Everything went about as wrong as it could,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

Lidle (2-2) pitched six shutout innings in his third — and best — start since coming to New York at the trading deadline along with more-heralded slugger Bobby Abreu.

With All-Star closer Mariano Rivera unavailable after pitching two innings to win Sunday night’s game — actually, it ended at 1:26 a.m. Monday — Kyle Farnsworth pitched the ninth for his second save in six tries.

Yankees manager Joe Torre shouted in the Yankees’ dugout and exchanged hearty handshakes with his coaches, then hugged his players as they came off the field after the hard-to-believe sweep.

“It was emotional,” Torre said. “When you’re sitting there, a manager’s dream is to have these guys, their attitude. The guys that didn’t play today — you had to be in the dugout to hear the support that they gave each other.”

There were a lot of regulars not playing for the Yankees, who rested three regulars — center fielder Johnny Damon, catcher Jorge Posada and first baseman Jason Giambi — and used Derek Jeter at designated hitter.

David Wells (2-3) coasted through the makeshift lineup for five innings before Abreu doubled in Melky Cabrera to break the scoreless tie.

Nick Green doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the eighth to make it 2-0. Wily Mo Pena homered off Scott Proctor for Boston’s only run.

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