NEW YORK — Cam Schlittler didn’t hesitate to answer. Sure, the New York Yankees’ win Friday night was crucial in that it was a tense, 1-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox, their forever rivals.But didn’t it seem like even more than that? Didn’t he also feel the sigh of relief from the 43,476 fans at Yankee Stadium after the final out?“That’s a great one,” Schlittler said. “The division’s wide open. Tampa’s got a couple games on us. Boston’s right behind us. I think (if) we separate ourselves from Boston this weekend, it puts us in a good spot.”“Everything matters in these games,” manager Aaron Boone said.Here are three reasons the Yankees’ victory Friday was more than just another notch in the win column.Keeping Boston at bayThe second-place Yankees (76-58) don’t want to allow the third-place Red Sox (73-61) to pass them in the American League East. After a terrible start to the season, Boston went into Friday 44-17 in its previous 61 games — the best record in the majors over that span.With Friday’s win, the Yankees pushed the Red Sox to three games back. If Boston sweeps Saturday’s doubleheader and wins on Sunday, the teams would be tied, but the Red Sox would own the season series and the tiebreaker, which is currently knotted at 5-5.Friday’s win not only helped the Yankees fend off surging Boston, but it helped them maintain the gulf between them and the first-place Tampa Bay Rays at four games.Keith Law on the Astros' GM firingKeith LawThe circumstances of where the Yankees and Red Sox stand in the division “plays into” how key Friday’s triumph felt, Boone said.“These are important games in that context,” he said. “Just a tremendous atmosphere out there tonight, and just so many critical moments in the game that could have tipped it either way. Glad we were on the good side of it this time. But anytime Red Sox and Yankees get together, it’s important, and it always feels a little bigger. But in the context of what we’re getting down to at this point of the season, those ones feel good.”