Derek Jeter called it a career after chopping a single over the leaping third baseman's head in the third inning Sunday.

The Red Sox should have called it a season then, too.

Alas, there were still six meaningless innings to play, plenty of time for the last-place Sox' two-run deficit to sprout into a 9-5 rout -- their 91st loss of the season -- and for Fenway Park to morph into Yankee Stadium North in celebration of Jeter's storied 20-year career.

There were plenty of enduring images from which to pick, so much so that Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly even took a pic (a selfie, to be exact) with Jeter during the choreographed pregame tribute to the Yankees' captain.

From the lineup of Sox stalwarts -- Carl Yastrzemski, Rico Petrocelli, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield -- who were present to honor Jeter to longtime Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams soulfully strumming "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" on his acoustic guitar during the seventh inning stretch, it was a day that won't soon be forgotten by New York baseball fans, if not by their Boston brethren.

The actual game? That was as distant a second as every other shortstop in Yankees history was to Jeter, who lined out in the first inning against Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz before chopping his 3,456th hit over rookie third baseman Garin Cecchini's head.

With that, Jeter left the game, pausing at the mound to embrace Buchholz, then shaking hands with his teammates and tipping his helmet to the sellout crowd, most of which sang his name -- "DE-REK JE-TER" -- then and after he was gone.

By then, the Yankees already had a 2-0 lead on Ichiro Suzuki's triple en route to a four-run inning. Buchholz kept the deficit to 4-0 through six innings, finishing his miserable season with a 5.34 ERA that ranked as the worst among the 89 pitchers with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title in either league.

Lefty reliever Craig Breslow punctuated his disappointing season by allowing five runs on five hits and not recording an out in the seventh inning. After playing a critical role in the Sox' bullpen during last year's run to the World Series, Breslow heads to free agency with a 5.96 ERA, by far the worst of his career.

There were a few Red Sox bright spots, both in the season and on this day.

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Derek Jeter says goodbye, as Yankees beat Red Sox in season finale