The Red Sox continued to roll, beating the Yankees for the third straight time, 4-1 behind the powerful pitching of Nathan Eovaldi, stretching their lead in the A.L. East to 8.5 games.
Eovaldi, in his second start with the Sox, blanked the Yanks for eight innings, allowing just three hits. He has yet to allow a run in 15 innings since joining the Sox.
Boston got all the offense it needed in the first with a two-run homer from Mitch Moreland. A solo homer from J.D. Martinez in the fourth and a run-scoring double from Sandy Leon added to their margin.
New York spoiled the shutout bid in the ninth with consecutive two-out doubles from Giancarlo Stanton and Didi Gregorius off closer Craig Kimbrel and things got dicey when Kimbrel walked two more to load the bases before getting Greg Bird to fly out to center for his 34th save.
The Yankees have just six hits and two runs in the last two games and have dropped four in a row overall.
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
6:01 Not exactly a speedy review there, but the Red Sox get the foul ball call on Sandy Leon reversed. Leon is awarded a double and the Red Sox' lead grows to 4-0.
5:35 You may not be able to see it from where you sit, but Eovaldi has brought out a nice rocking chair to the mound and is looking very comfortable in it. Through six innings, he's thrown 62 pitches -- or, one fewer than Rick Porcello had been through six innings Friday night.
4:58 It had been a few days, so....solo homer from J.D. Martinez, golfed into the Monster Seats. That's his 33rd homer. He needs 10 more the rest of the way to set a franchise record for most homers by a Red Sox player in his first year with the team. Dick Stuart (42 in 1963) is the current record-holder.
4:52 In his Red Sox debut last Sunday, Eovaldi got seven of his 21 outs on the ground. Today, he's already got five through four innings, including two double-plays -- to erase both of the baserunners he's allowed
4:44 Chance Adams has done pretty well for himself so far, excepting the homer to Moreland. He didn't get a swing-and-miss for the first 2.1 innings, but then got one on Mookie Betts to complete a strikeout. Betts came into today with just 54 strikeouts in 91 games.
4:39 Alex Cora said that Nathan Eovaldi has learned to pitch vertically -- that is, fastball up in the zone and breaking balls down -- and that was an example. Set up Miguel Andjuar with breaking pitches at the bottom of the zone, then got him to chase a fastball up.
4:17 Seemingly, not a terrible pitch from rookie Chance Adams -- a slider in the bottom of the zone. But like most lefties, Mitch Moreland likes the ball low and he drove it into the bullpen for a quick 2-0 lead.
WHO: Red Sox vs. New York Yankees
WHEN: 4:05 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox have won the first two games of the series and six of the last seven overall, while winning 21 of their last 26. They're also 16-3 in their last 19 home games. Nathan Eovaldi makes his second start since being acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay. He'll be opposed by RHP Chance Adams, who makes his major league debut for the Yankees. New York has lost three straight and are 7.5 games behind the Red Sox.
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-4, 3.80) vs. RHP Chance Adams.
TV/RADIO: NESN/FS1; WEEI 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Moreland 1B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Nunez 3B
Holt 2B
Leon C
Bradley CF
YANKEES
Gardner LF
Stanton DH
Gregorius SS
Hicks CF
Torres 2B
Bird 1B
Andujar 3B
Romine C
Robinson RF
NEWS AND NOTES
- As expected, the Red Sox placed 2B Ian Kinsler on the 10-day DL with a strained hamstring. To take his spot on the roster, the Red Sox purchased the contract of infielder Tony Renda. Renda, 27, was signed as a minor league free agent back in April and has spent time in both Portland and Pawtucket. He spent a brief time in the big leagues with the Cincinnati Reds when he spent 32 games in 2016. This season, he's hit .353 with five homers and a .928 OPS between Double A and Triple A.
- To get Renda onto the 40-man roster, the Sox transferred 2B Dustin Pedroia to the 60-day DL.
- Kinsler is the fourth Red Sox player to be placed on the DL this week and third position player. "I'm not concerned,'' said Cora of the recent rash of injuries. "I think we're a deep ballclub. It seems like when someone goes down, the next guy will show up and play well for us. It's not like this is something new for us. We prepare, we go out there and we play and then we turn the page. It's not perfect. We wish everyone was healthy. But at the same time, we understand that over 162 games, this is going to happen. It's happened a lot lately and it sucks, but we're comfortable with the guys that we're playing.''