After choking back tears for nine innings on his last night wearing pinstripes, Derek Jeter stamped an exclamation point on the end of his New York career, slashing an opposite-field walk-off single in the ninth that lifted the Yankees to a 6-5 victory over the Orioles on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

There was no clinching of a postseason berth, no end to a 28-year drought, no clubhouse party for the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night at U.S. Cellular Field. But the Royals did move closer to that happy moment with a 6-3 victory over the White Sox. Lorenzo Cain had four hits and Eric Hosmer homered.

We scoffed earlier this season when Robin Ventura, Derek Jeter’s teammate in 2002 and ’03, suggested the captain was the greatest Yankee ever. Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Yogi and Mantle readily came to mind, and still do. But Jeter so often has done the remarkable — see Sept. 25, 2014 — that he cannot be ignored. He’s part of the conversation. Isn’t he?

Victor Martinez’s two-run homer and Miguel Cabrera’s solo shot provided much of the support for Max Scherzer, who overcame four walks in six innings of two-run ball for his 18th win, a 4-2 victory over the Twins on Thursday night at Comerica Park. The Tigers reduced their magic number to two for clinching the AL Central.

Derek Jeter wanted to leave something special about his final game at Yankee Stadium, so even though he decided he will play at some point in Boston, Thursday was his final game at shortstop.

If, in the aftermath of watching Derek Jeter pick up a walk-off hit in his final career home game Thursday night, you thought something along the lines of, “Surely, that’s never happened before,” you would be wrong.

Derek Jeter tipped his hat and waved and acknowledged the thunderous cheers. In that way, he told the fans he appreciated them, that he could never repay all they’d done for him.

Derek Jeter’s Yankee Stadium career came to an end Thursday night with a walk-off, 6-5 win over the Orioles, the game-winning hit coming courtesy of Jeter himself, leaving in awe not only those in attendance but also those watching on TVs in clubhouses and living rooms across the country. Here’s a sampling of some of the reactions from players and managers around the Majors — from rivals to former teammates to folks who don’t know him well but have watched from afar.

With the curtain having fallen on Derek Jeter’s career — at least at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night — there’s not much dispute about where he stands on the list of all-time Yankee great position players: Pretty darned high.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi spent all week saying how he did not want to script Derek Jeter’s final moments at Yankee Stadium, knowing that he already had a moment planned out. He did not reveal it, however, because he did not want Jeter to find out.

Luke Gregerson surrendered a walk-off homer to Adrian Beltre with one out in the ninth inning on Thursday night, as the A’s fell to the Rangers, 2-1, in the opener of a four-game set at Globe Life Park.

A pair of aces is good. But four of a kind is even better, and that’s the hand the Pirates are about to deal the postseason. Edinson Volquez, who may not have the high profile of Francisco Liriano or Gerrit Cole but has sharper numbers, masterfully sent the Bucs into the telltale weekend by firing seven more blanks Thursday night in a 10-1 victory over the Braves.

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez was dealing Thursday night, striking out a career-high 12, as the Nationals won the nightcap of a split doubleheader, 3-0, over the Mets at Nationals Park.

What ended Thursday night in the Bronx — Derek Jeter’s Yankee Stadium career — started more than 19 years ago on a seemingly innocuous June night in The House That Ruth Built.

As the Mets wrapped up their final road trip of the year on Thursday, Matt Harvey was back in New York as usual. But Harvey was not in his East Village apartment watching the Mets on television. He was at Yankee Stadium, soaking in the atmosphere of Derek Jeter’s final home game.

The Orioles cheered at the beginning of Thursday’s game, as the JumboTron played a tribute to Yankees captain Derek Jeter. And as the immediate effects of the 6-5 walk-off loss — by the bat of Jeter, no less — started to wear off, Baltimore stayed in the visitors’ dugout to clap again and take in Jeter’s celebration.

Logan Morrison’s strong stretch run continued Thursday as the big left fielder ripped a pair of home runs in the Mariners’ 7-5 victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, helping Seattle snap a five-game skid to keep its slim playoff hopes afloat.