Suarez's gem all for naught, as Yankee bats get to Slaten in series finale

As you watched the Red Sox engaged with the Yankees in a tight, low-scoring affair on Sunday afternoon in the Bronx, you had to keep some concern in the back of your mind that Boston would eventually run out of arms.

You just assumed that would be happening after Justin Slaten and Aroldis Chapman finished their work.

Alas, for the second time in the past 16 days, Slaten served up a game-losing homer.

This time, it was Cody Bellinger smashing a 1-0 cutter over the heart of the plate into the bleachers in right field and giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the eighth. Slaten gave up another run before exiting with two runners aboard, and Joe La Sorsa -- making his Red Sox debut after a trade this week from Pittsburgh -- immediately served up a three-run homer, thus turning a once-promising afternoon into a painful day in the Bronx.

With the loss, the Red Sox are now 27-36, remaining equidistant to the third wild card and the worst record in baseball. They're in last place in the AL East, 10.5 games behind the Yankees and Rays, and they're four games out of that third wild card with five teams between them and that spot.

Here are your three key takeaways from the Yankees' 6-1 win in New York.

• Ranger Suarez outdueled Cam Schlittler

Cam Schlittler is among a handful of early contenders for the AL Cy Young this year. He dominated the Red Sox back in late April, pitching eight runs and allowing just one run on four hits at Fenway Park. He wasn't quite that good in this one, but he was still excellent in a bounce-back effort after an ugly one against Cleveland earlier in the week.

But on Sunday afternoon, Ranger Suarez was the better starting pitcher.

Suarez scattered six hits and allowed just one run while striking out six and issuing zero walks over 6.1 innings, and he looked like he could have easily breezed through the seventh if not for an early call to the bullpen from interim manager Chad Tracy. Suarez generated 17 swings-and-misses, effectively mixing his fastball (37 percent), sinker (21 percent), curveball (14 percent) and cutter (13 percent) to keep the Yankees off balance throughout his outing.

Suarez ended his afternoon by getting Jazz Chisholm to chase a high fastball for strike three, Suarez has had his ups and downs this season -- the first on a five-year, $130 million deal -- but Sunday was certainly among his better outings of the season.

• Justin Slaten takes third loss of season

Justin Slaten ended his 2025 season with six straight scoreless appearances. He didn't allow an earned run through his first nine appearances this season. 

But on May 22 against the Twins, he was tagged for four runs on two homers at Fenway. And on Sunday, he once again got hit with four earned runs while serving up a game-deciding home run in the eighth inning.

This one wasn't complicated, as Slaten's 1-0 pitch to Bellinger bisected the plate, and Cody Bellinger was all over it.

For his part, Slaten didn't mince words postgame.

"[Crap] pitch. Simple as that," Slaten said. "Just didn't locate the cutter where I wanted to. I got hit hard."

While two bad outings wouldn't quite put Slaten on the list of major concerns about the Red Sox, he has now matched last year's season total of three home runs allowed. Those were given up over 34 innings (after allowing just four homers in 55.1 innings in his rookie season in 2024), while he's given up this year's home run total in just 11.2 innings.

Still, the trio of Slaten, Garrett Whitlock and Chapman was the most reliable part of the Red Sox' major league roster this season. Yet Slaten missed a month with an oblique strain, Whitlock is currently on the IL with a knee injury, and Chapman is apparently dealing with a hamstring issue, which Tracy revealed on Friday night. 

Anyone looking for a silver lining, though, can find it in Tyron Guerrero. The flame-throwing righty