BOSTON — One win does not erase the weekend’s previous three putrid performances against the Red Sox. Nor can Domingo German’s strong outing remove the pungent stench that came off the Yankees’ starters in the previous eight games.
Yet, what the 9-6 victory over the Red Sox in front of 37,429 Sunday night at Fenway Park did was release the pressure building in the Yankees’ universe, salvage the finale of a four-game series and allow the Yankees to enjoy Monday’s off day instead of hearing and reading about the pinstriped sky falling around them.
It also slowed down the momentum of the third-place Red Sox, who dropped to nine games behind the AL East-leading Yankees. The second-place Rays are eight back.
Battered by the Twins (eight runs and nine hits in 3 ²/₃ innings) in his previous start, German rebounded with 5 ¹/₃ innings Sunday in which he allowed three runs and four hits. He tied a season-high with nine strikeouts and improved to 13-2.
In the previous eight games Yankee starters were 1-5 with two no-decisions and a whopping 13.78 ERA. They allowed 59 hits, 10 walks and hit two batters in 32 innings. Ten of those hits were homers.
Austin Romine hit a two-run homer off Chris Sale in the third and Didi Gregorius did the same in the fourth. Sale (5-10) gave up six runs and five hits in 5 ¹/₃ innings.
Nothing comes easy for the Yankees these days and the eighth inning was a sweat job that started with Zack Britton walking J.D. Martinez and Andrew Benintendi hitting a single off Gregorius’ glove. Pinch-hitter Michael Chavis grounded to third and Sam Travis, another pinch hitter, walked to load the bases.
That brought the crowd back into the game but Britton struck out Jackie Bradley Jr. with an 81 mph slider and induced a Christian Vazquez ground out to Gregorius.
With Monday a day off and Aroldis Chapman having not pitched since Wednesday, Aaron Boone used his closer with a five-run cushion to finish the game. He allowed a pair of runs in the non-save situation.
Leading, 8-3, starting the home seventh, Tommy Kahnle gave up a one-out single to Bradley and was removed for Adam Ottavino. He got pinch-hitter Vazquez to hit a ground ball up the middle that Gregorius knocked down. But his toss to Gleyber Torres at second was late and off target as Bradley raced to third. He scored on Mookie Betts’ fly to right and when Rafael Devers doubled to left, the Red Sox had runners on second and third for Xander Bogaerts, who flied to right to kill the inning.
With the bases loaded in the seventh Bradley caught a short fly ball from Gregorius on the move from center field toward the infield. When he spotted Luke Voit wandering too far off first base Bradley threw wide of first and when the ball went into the Red Sox dugout Aaron Hicks and Edwin Encarnacion scored to put the Yankees ahead, 8-3.
German walked Devers and gave up a double to Bogaerts to start the sixth. After Martinez’s grounder to short scored Devers and cut the Yankees’ lead to 6-3, Boone called for Kahnle. He struck out Benintendi on a breaking ball in the dirt and retired Brock Holt on a fly to left.
Sale walked Gregorius to open the sixth inning and he scored from first base with one out when Gio Urshela doubled into the triangle in center field to up the Yankees’ lead to 5-2. It was Urshela’s second double in three innings.
When German retired Betts on a ground ball to short to end the home fifth he was the first Yankee starter to go five frames in these four games against the Red Sox and in the previous seven overall.
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