Ramirez Homers, Red Sox Beat Yankees 7-4
BOSTON -- Hanley Ramirez and Jackie Bradley Jr. homered, Clay Buchholz tossed six innings of two-run ball and the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 7-4 Friday night at Fenway Park.
Ramirez's homer was his 26th of the season and Bradley blasted his 25th, giving the Red Sox four players with 25 or more long balls in 2016 (also David Ortiz and Mookie Betts).
Ramirez drove in two runs total while David Ortiz, Travis Shaw and Sandy Leon each had an RBI for the Red Sox.
Buchholz (7-10) allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out a pair, bouncing back nicely from his six-run debacle in a loss to the Blue Jays in Toronto last Sunday.
Craig Kimbrel converted a two-out save for his 26th of the year.
Boston (83-64) maintained its two-game lead atop the American League East after the second-place Baltimore Orioles' win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
New York (77-70) fell six games back in the AL East. The Yankees are 3 1/2 games behind Toronto in the wild card race.
Yankees starter Luis Cessa (4-2) surrendered three runs on six hits and struck out one in five innings.
Billy Butler hit a two-run homer, his fifth of the campaign and first as a member of the Yankees, and Gary Sanchez had a two-run double to account for New York's only runs.
With the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth, Shaw had a sacrifice fly and Leon clubbed an RBI ground-rule double to extend the Red Sox's lead to three.
Bradley added his homer, a solo shot to center, in the seventh before Betts grounded into a double play to produce a run.
Butler launched his homer over the Green Monster in left with one down in the ninth off reliever Fernando Abad, who proceeded to plunk Brett Gardner the next at-bat.
The Red Sox turned to Kimbrel, who struck out Jacoby Ellsbury and Sanchez to end the game.
Ortiz drove in the game's first run on an RBI single to left-center field with one out in the first.
Two batters later, Ramirez -- who played the hero Thursday night with a walk-off three-run homer against New York closer Dellin Betances -- drove in another on his second homer in as many nights on his solo shot to straightaway center with one out in the fourth.
Buchholz was able to hold the Yankees without a run through four innings before Sanchez hit a towering two-run double off the Green Monster in left-center, making it a one-run game.
NOTES: Boston RHP Steven Wright (right shoulder strain) experienced "tremendous progress" in the past three days, according to manager John Farrell. "He's not feeling anything right now," Farrell said. ... Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira returned after missing two games with a neck ailment and hit eighth. "It's not something that I've done a lot of," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I kind of looked at the match up." ... Red Sox LF Andrew Benintendi will be back in the lineup Saturday after a day off. "Given the amount of time down, felt like we're going to ease Andrew back into this," Farrell said. Benintendi missed 17 games with a left knee sprain. ... Boston's first-round draft pick LHP Jason Groome was at Fenway Park and was scheduled to meet with Farrell on Friday. "Looking forward to hearing how his month or so of experience in pro ball has been," Farrell said. ... RHP Bryan Mitchell, who faces LHP David Price Saturday, had his ERA climb to 6.14 when RF Aaron Judge's three-base error on Dodgers 2B Chase Utley's fly ball was changed to a triple.
