Red Sox Beat Yankees 5-3
NEW YORK -- Steven Wright retired the first 14 hitters he faced and the Boston Red Sox began the second half with a 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday night.
Ryan Hanigan, Travis Shaw and Xander Bogaerts homered off Yankees starter Michael Pineda for the Red Sox (50-38), who won for the eighth time in 10 games and beat the Yankees for the eighth time in their last 11 meetings.
Carlos Beltran drove in two runs and Brian McCann had the other RBI for the Yankees (44-45), who were blanked for five innings and opened a pivotal 10-game homestand by falling 8 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles.
New York's rally in the sixth would have tied the game but it occurred shortly after Boagaerts chased Pineda (3-9) with a long home run into the left field seats.
Those home runs were enough for Wright (11-5) to continue his success against the Yankees. He allowed three runs and three hits in six innings and is 4-1 in five appearances against New York, including a 4-0 mark at Yankee Stadium.
Wright retired the first 14 Yankees on 51 pitches. He lost his bid for a perfect game when Alex Rodriguez hit a weak grounder for an infield hit.
New York's second hit was a single up the middle by Starlin Castro to open the sixth and it drew some sarcastic applause from fans. The Yankees loaded the bases when Wright hit Chase Headley with a pitch and walked Jacoby Ellsbury.
Following a mound visit by Boston pitching coach Carl Willis, Wright gave up a single to Beltran on a ball that went past the diving attempt of first baseman Hanley Ramirez.
On the next pitch, the Yankees made it 5-3 when McCann hit a slow grounder to Ramirez. Ramirez went to second for the force attempt but the return throw was late.
The threat ended a pitch later when Mark Teixeira popped out to the left side of the infield.
Brad Ziegler and Robbie Ross Jr. pitched a scoreless inning apiece. Koji Uehara notched his fifth save by retiring Rodriguez for the final out.
Before the Yankees scored, Pineda allowed a solo home run to Hanigan with two outs in the third, a two-run home run to Shaw with none out in the fifth and Bogaerts' 11th with none out in the sixth.
The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead with two outs in the third when Hanigan drove a 3-1 fastball over the left-field wall into the visiting bullpen.
Boston extended the lead to 3-0 with none out in the fifth when Shaw sent a full-count fastball several rows into the right field bleachers.
With two outs in the fifth, Rodriguez became the first Yankee to reach base against Wright when he hit a weak grounder to the left side of the mound. Wright barehanded the ball, could not get a grip on it and was unable to make the throw.
On the next pitch, Wright retired Didi Gregorius on a pop-out to shortstop.
NOTES: New York DH Alex Rodriguez fielded ground balls at first base Friday. Manager Joe Girardi did not commit to saying when and if Rodriguez would appear there in a game. ... Newly acquired LHP Drew Pomeranz is slated to make his debut for the Red Sox Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants. Pomeranz spoke with manager John Farrell late Thursday, is slated to arrive Saturday and throw his first bullpen session for the Red Sox on Sunday. ... Girardi said RHP Nathan Eovaldi will start Tuesday against Baltimore. Eovaldi was listed as a reliever on the team's lineup and was pulled from the rotation to provide bullpen depth leading up the All-Star break. ... RHP Junichi Tazawa (right shoulder impingement) threw 25 pitches in an "aggressive" bullpen session, according to Farrell. Tazawa was placed on the disabled list Thursday but the move is retroactive to July 4 and Farrell said he expects him to return when eligible.
