Flipping the script on the Yankees, the Red Sox, shutout for the first seven innings, came alive with five runs in the eighth inning and rallied to secure a 5-4 win.
The Red Sox were held without a hit through seven innings by starter Domingo German before piecing together five straight hits. Aided by a groundout and sacrifice fly, the Sox grabbed the lead for the first time, then held off the Yanks in the ninth with a save to Matt Barnes.
The victory, coupled with Cleveland's win over Tampa Bay, put the Sox back into sole possession of first in the A.L. East.
WHO: Red Sox (60-39) vs. New York Yankees (51-46)
WHEN: 1:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: BOS 9-3
SERIES TO DATE: BOS 2-1
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Martin Perez (7-6, 4.16) vs. Domingo German (4-5, 4.71)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7
LINEUPS
LeMahieu 1B
Stanton DH
Odor 2B
Sanchez C
Torres SS
Gardner CF
Urshela 3B
LaMarre LF
Allen RF
RED SOX
Hernandez 2B
Duran CF
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Martinez DH
Verdugo LF
Renfroe RF
Vazquez C
Cordero 1B
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
B8: After being held hitless through seven innings, the Red Sox have pieced together four straight hits, scoring two runs and putting the tying run on base.
B8: Renfroe greets relievers Jonathan Loaisiga with a double to left, scoring Verdugo and the Sox' scoreless streak is over. First run since the third inning Saturday.
B8: Alex Verdugo jumps on a curveball and wallops a curveball off the bullpen wall, breaking up Domingo German's no-hit bid to lead off the bottom of the eighth.
T8: Wonder how much more time Brandon Workman will get? He's completely ineffective and is averaging almost a walk per inning.
B7: German brilliant in the seventh, fanning four (thanks to a passed ball). Red Sox haven't scored in their last 13 innings, dating back to the fourth inning Saturday.
T7: Yacksel Rios with poor control -- faced four hitters, walked two and hit another. He's out, Josh Taylor on
B6: Three up and three down, and Sox go down in order again. A leadoff walk to Renfroe in the third is all that's standing between German and a perfect game through six.
T6: Perez leaves a first--pitch cutter over the middle of the plate and Odor jacks it over the Red Sox bullpen and now the Yankees lead 3-0. First homer by a lefty hitter allowed by Perez this season; coming into today, he hadn't allowed one in 80 plate appearances.
B4: Red Sox haven't been able to do anything with Domingo German through four innings. Still don't have a hit, and just one baserunner (leadoff walk to Hunter Renfroe in the fourth) so far.
T4: Yankees get another run on a leadoff double by Gleyber Torres and a run-scoring single from Gio Urshela.
T3: Line single to center from Rougned Odor scores Greg Allen to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Odor has had some big hits against the Sox in the last week.
T3: Perez came into the day second in the A.L. in called third strikes and into the third inning, has three today.
T1: Martin Perez works around a leadoff double with two strikeouts and a hard lineout, keeping the Yankees off the board.
WHAT'S UP: At 60-39 (.606), the Red Sox are tied with the Astros and Rays for the AL’s best record...They are 21 games above .500, one shy of their season high (54-32 & 60-38)....The Sox snapped a 4-game win streak yesterday...They are 28-16 (.636) in their last 44 games...The Red Sox are playing their 100th game of the season today...This is the 19th time they have won at least 60 of their first 100 games; they have won 61 or more of their first 100 games 14 times, most recently in 2018, 2011, 2007, 2006, and 1995.....The Red Sox lost yesterday’s game after leading, 3-0...They had been the only team in MLB yet to lose a game in which they held a lead of at least three runs. According to Elias, the only teams that are unbeaten when holding a lead of four or more runs are the Red Sox (36- 0), Brewers (33-0), and Cleveland (22-0). The Sox lead the majors with 31 come-from-behind wins (TB ranks 2nd with 30)...In 10 of those wins, the Sox trailed after five innings.....The Red Sox regained sole possession of first place in the AL East on June 27 and held on to that position until last night, when the Rays moved into a tie for first. The Sox are 26-13 (.667) vs. AL East teams. Twenty-nine of the Sox’ first 32 games out of the All-Star break are vs. the AL East (NYY-10, TOR-10, TB-6, BAL-3, DET-3)....The Red Sox are 10-3 in their last 13 games against the Yankees (9-3 in 2021)...Sox pitchers have a 2.72 ERA against the Yankees this season, allowing three ER or fewer in nine of 12 meetings. Prior to yesterday, the Sox had won their last six home games against the Yankees (5-0 in 2021)....The Red Sox are 30-20 (.600) at home, the fourth-best record in the AL (10th-best in MLB)... They are 15-7 (.682) at home since Fenway opened to full capacity on May 29, including 11-3 in their last 14 games. In their last three homestands, the Sox have averaged 6.4 runs per game while recording a .303/.373/.517/.891 batting line...In their last 25 games , Red Sox starters own a 3.58 ERA ...Sox starters have thrown five or more innings 75 times, tied for fourth-most in MLB; the Sox are 49-26 (.653) in those games.....Red Sox relievers rank third the AL in ERA (3.61)...Their eight active relievers have a combined 2.93 ERA for Boston this season...Beginning April 30, Josh Taylor has allowed no runs in 29 of his last 30 outings...Alex Cora owns the highest winning percentage (.596) among the 19 individuals who have managed at least 400 games with the Red Sox....Terry Francona is next at .574...The Sox rank in the top five in the majors in runs scored (third, 504), AVG (third .257), SLG (second.443), OPS (third .764), doubles (first 212), and XBH (first 353). The Sox have hit four or more in a game an MLB-best 10 times, including in five of their last 22 games...In that 22-game span (beginning 6/27), they lead the AL with 38 HR. The Sox own MLB’s best records when scoring four or more (53-7, .883) and five or more runs (46-4, .920)...They have scored 10+ runs in a game 13 times, tied with the Blue Jays for most in the AL and second-most in MLB (CIN-14)....The Red Sox lead MLB in runs scored with two outs (218)...With RISP and two outs, they lead MLB in AVG (.285), SLG (.509), and OPS (.881). With two strikes, the Sox lead the majors in RBI (200) and XBH (125)...They lead the AL in two-strike HR (49)....Martin Perez Is 3-2 with a 3.33 ERA in his last six starts. The Red Sox have won four f his last six starts. Has won his last seven starts when throwing at least five innings....In his last 16 starts, he has a 3.84 ERA ....In eight road starts, is 4-2 with a 2.47 ERA, the AL’s fourth-lowest road ERA and MLB’s 10th-lowest...D.J. LeMahieu is 5-for-16 with a homer in his career against Perez while Giancarlo Stanton is 4-for-10 with two homers.
NOTES:
* Eduardo Rodriguez has been cleared to resume activities and is set to start Thursday, the final game of the series with Toronto. He left his start Friday with a migraine. "He's doing better,'' said Alex Cora. "Physically, he's OK. Everything looks good. From my end, I have no doubts that everything will go accordingly.''
* Cora said the team is missing a number of its most versatile pieces, with Marwin Gonzalez (hamstring), Danny Santana (groin) and Christian Arroyo (groin) all currently on the IL. None is particularly close to returning to the team. "They're progressing,'' said Cora, "but it's not going to be anytime soon. People look at the numbers and the average and the offensive production, but what they bring to the equation as far as versatility and balance in the lineup and those veteran at-bats are always needed. Versatility was one of those things we wanted coming into the season and with these guys down, it's not that we're limited by we have to make certain adjustments.''
* Franchy Cordero is getting his first start at first base. "We feel comfortable with him,'' said Cora. "Taking grounders the way he moves -- he actually is pretty smooth. We feel comfortable with him playing there. He's such a good athlete. For how big he is, he's very athletic. We expect him to out there and make plays.''
* Ryan Brasier, who was struck in the head while throwing a simulated game in June, has been cleared to throw bullpens. He threw one Friday and will throw another Monday. "Obviously, this is at a slow pace,'' said Cora. "We don't want to get too excited. I'm just happy he's doing baseball activities.''