Boston Win Two of Three Against Yankees in Rivalry Series
Fresh off its one-sided sweep of the Kansas City Royals, the New York Yankees could not keep their hot streak rolling. They lost two out of three games against their biggest rivals, the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees earned a comfortable win in the first game but struggled on the mound in the last two games of the series. New York remains top of the AL East, while Boston moved up to third place in the division.
The Yankees dominated the first game, earning an 8-1 win. Alex Verdugo wasted no time against his former team, hitting a two-run homer in the top of the first. Verdugo celebrated, showing no love to the Boston faithful. The Yankees capitalized on a catching error in the fourth, with Giancarlo Stanton scoring. The Red Sox immediately pulled back a run, but Verdugo once again terrorized Brayan Bello, slashing an RBI double Anthony Rizzo followed up with a run-scoring single of his own to give the Yankees a 5-1 lead. Jose Trevino went deep in the ninth, followed by an RBI double from Aaron Judge and a run-scoring single from Verdugo to cap off the 8-1 win. Luis Gil moved to 9-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.03. The victory was highlighted by Verdugo’s four RBIs against his former team, putting the Yankees at 50 wins this season.
The Yankees could not claim the series victory the next night, falling 8-4 in what was a difficult evening on the mound and at the plate. The Red Sox got out to an early 3-0 lead before DJ LeMahieu cut the deficit to one run with a two-run double. Rafael Devers reestablished Boston’s lead with a two-run double of his own at the next at-bat. Five innings later, the game returned to life again with a home run from Juan Soto. After a challenged play gone wrong and a throwing error by Trevino, the Red Sox had sealed the win. Carlos Rodon, who has been pitching much better this season gave up seven hits, five runs, and pitched five innings, suffering his third defeat of the season.
The final game of the series was just as ugly for New York. Boston controlled the game from start to finish, despite Judge going deep over the Monster in the top of the first. The Red Sox responded quickly, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth. Trevino continued his prowess at the plate, hitting his second homer in two days. The Yankees made it a one-run game as Anthony Volpe capitalized on a wild pitch.
With the bases loaded, New York had a great opportunity to retake the lead in the top of the seventh. Zack Kelly got Boston out of the jam, as Gleyber Torres and Trevino struck out swinging, and LeMahieu lined out to center field. From there, the Red Sox put the game to bed, scoring five runs in the final three innings. Boston had 14 hits and stole nine bases, a franchise record. New York will return to Yankee Stadium for a series against the Baltimore Orioles, while Boston will travel for a road series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
