Both the Red Sox and Yankees experienced bullpen meltdowns Friday night, but because the Red Sox had a 3-0 head start before the relievers took over, they hung on for a 9-6 victory.
Trailing by three in the bottom of the seventh, the Sox began their comeback with a four-run inning off Chad Green and Tommy Kahnle, with pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland delivering the big blow, a two-run single. In the eighth, the Sox kept piling on with a two-run single from Jackie Bradley Jr. off embattled closer Aroldis Chapman.
The win was Boston's third straight and extended their lead to five games in the A.L. East.
The Yankees had erased a 3-0 Red Sox lead with six unanswered runs against Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly, Heath Hembree and Robby Scott. Todd Frazier's two-run shot off Barnes in the sixth began the comeback and a solo homer by Todd Frazier off Kelly tied things before Ronald Torreyes laced a two-run single off Hembree and a hit batsman by Scott extended the inning.
The Sox had taken a quick lead thanks to a two-run homer by Rafael Devers -- his fourth homer this week -- and a solo shot from Christian Vazquez.
Starter Drew Pomeranz, who blanked the Yanks over the first three, left with one out in the fourth after experiencing back spasms.
GAME NO.: 121
WHO: Red Sox (69-51) vs New York Yankees (65-55)
WHEN: 7:10
WHERE: Fenway Park
TV: NESN
RADIO: WEEI (93.7 FM)
PITCHERS: Drew Pomeranz (12-4, 3.39) vs. Jordan Montgomery (7-6, 3.94)
BOX SCORE: MLB Gameday
SERIES TO DATE: The Yankees lead the season series to date, 7-5. The Red Sox took two-of-three in New York last weekend for their first series of the season, with the Yankees having won two of the first three and another ending in a split. The clubs will play one more series, in New York, on Labor Day weekend.
WHERE THINGS STAND: The Sox are 12-2 in August, the best record in the big leagues over that span. They’re also a season-best 18 games over .500. The Sox also own the best winning percentage at home (.644), the best mark in the A.L. The Yankees are coming off a four-game interleague sweep of the Mets. This series is the middle of a three-series, eight-game trip.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Pomeranz has won his last six decisions and has already posted a career high in victories (12). The Sox have won 11 of his last 15 starts. The Sox hold a four-game lead and this series represents the Yankees’ next-to-last opportunity to make up ground in the race for the division lead. Montgomery pitched against the Red Sox last weekend and allowed just one run on two hits in 5.1 innings. It will be interesting to watch how the Yanks handle their bullpen, with Aroldis Chapman pitching poorly. Dellin Betances handled some of the closing responsibilities against the Mets.
STAT OF NOTE: Eight of the Red Sox’ last 19 wins at Fenway have been walk-off victories, including Wednesday against St. Louis.
LINEUPS:
RED SOX
Nunez 2B
Betts RF
Benintendi RF
Ramirez 1B
Young DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Vazquez C
Bradley Jr. CF
YANKEES
Gardner LF
Hicks CF
Judge RF
Sanchez DH
Gregorius SS
Headley 1B
Frazier 3B
Torreyes 2B
Romine C
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- The news on David Price isn't encouraging. After throwing on flat ground Tuesday, he was held out Wednesday, Thursday, and again, Friday, still experiencing what the club has alternately labeled "general soreness" or "stiffness'' in his left arm. The regular season is over six weeks from Sunday and time is beginning to run short for Price's return, given that he has yet to throw off a mound since going on the DL in late July. John Farrell said the Sox "still hope" that Price will return in September, but noted "we have to be realistic, too. He's got to build up (arm strength) first. That's still going to take some time.''
- Things are more positive where Dustin Pedroia is concerned. Pedroia, spending his second stint on the DL, is "improving,'' according to Farrell. "He's made some good strides.'' The goal is for Pedroia to begin some baseball activities here at Fenway. As such, he won't travel with the Sox to Cleveland for their four-game series.
- The team, as expected, flipped Rick Porcello and Doug Fister, with Porcello going in the series finale Sunday night and Fister pitching the opener of the series with the Indians.
- Epic at-bat between Joe Kelly vs. Aaron Judge -- power against power, with the bases loaded. In the course of the at-bat, Judge fouled back four fastballs at 100 mph or greater and seemed to be just missing them. Then, Kelly threw him a two-seamer which Judge pounded into the ground, directly at Xander Bogaerts, for the final out of the inning.
- Drew Pomeranz was tossing a shutout through 3.1 innings when he fired an errant fastball wide of the strike zone. In a minute, he was joined on the mound by teammates and an athletic trainer. Pomeranz then threw two warmup pitches, but the decision was made for him to leave the game. He flexed his leg at one point during the mound visit, indicating that it may have been a hamstring or quad issue, but the Red Sox soon announced that he was removed because of back spasms. Pomeranz had been in the middle of a terrific stretch, having allowed three runs or fewer in each of his previous five starts. There's no telling how long he might be out -- if at all -- but the prospect of another starter going down is a scary one for the Red Sox, who are already without David Price.
- The legend of Rafael Devers continues. Devers homered in the second inning into the Monster Seats to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead. It was the fourth homer in the last five games for Devers and seventh overall in 19 games. He also became only the second Red Sox player under 21 years of age to homer in consecutive games against the Yankees, having homered last Sunday off Aroldis Chapman. The other? Ted Williams. Pretty good company.