BOSTON — The New York Yankees swept the hometown club right out of the ballpark.
The Bronx Bombers beat up on the Red Sox early Sunday en route to an 8-5 win at Fenway Park. Boston fought back later in the contest, but it wasn’t nearly enough to avoid a three-game sweep.
The Red Sox have lost three straight for the first time in 2015. They’ll also close the book on their weekend series with the Yankees sitting under .500 at 12-13.
GAME IN A WORD
Hostile.
Hanley Ramirez stared back at Yankees starter Adam Warren in the sixth inning after being hit by a pitch. Edward Mujica seemingly retaliated by plunking Jacoby Ellsbury with a 3-0 offering in the eighth.
Both benches were warned after Mujica hit Ellsbury and cooler heads prevailed. But between those two tense moments, the “Yankees Suck!” chants that persisted throughout Fenway and the Red Sox’s frustration at the plate for much of the contest, yeah, you could say it was a hostile environment.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Joe Kelly labored through the third inning.
Kelly surrendered four hits in the third as the Yankees opened a 5-0 lead. Brian McCann delivered a two-run double and Carlos Beltran added an RBI double.
The Yankees later struck for three runs in the sixth inning to build an 8-0 lead, and while the Red Sox answered with five runs of their own in the home half, the deficit was too much for Boston to overcome.
David Ortiz, who represented the potential winning run, flied out to center field against Andrew Miller with the bases loaded to end the game.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— All of Boston’s runs came in the sixth. Five of the Red Sox’s seven hits also came in the inning.
Mike Napoli, who has been struggling this season, provided the highlight of the inning by lifting a three-run homer into the Monster seats.
David Ortiz (RBI double) and Pablo Sandoval (RBI single) also knocked in runs.
— The Red Sox’s hits were spread out, at least. Seven of Boston’s nine starters collected exactly one hit.
— Blake Swihart went 0-for-4 in his second major league game.
Swihart, who debuted Saturday, struck out with runners on first and second to end Boston’s big sixth inning. The rookie catcher came up empty on a half-hearted cut at a slider down and out of the zone.
ON THE BUMP
— Kelly couldn’t play the role of stopper.
Kelly allowed five earned runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out three, surrendered a homer to Mark Teixeira and threw 97 pitches (66 strikes).
— Craig Breslow, again relegated to mop-up duty, allowed three runs in the sixth inning without recording an out. Brett Gardner drilled a three-run homer into the Red Sox’s bullpen.
— Mujica didn’t allow a run over 2 1/3 innings. However, he ruffled some feathers by hitting Ellsbury with a 3-0 pitch.
— Dalier Hinojosa made his major league debut in relief. The Cuban right-hander struck out Alex Rodriguez to begin his big league career.
Hinojosa didn’t allow a run over 1 2/3 innings, but he walked three and threw just 19 of his 40 pitches for strikes.
TWEET OF THE GAME
Butter is a smart man.
[tweet https://twitter.com/brianmacp/status/595039835187974144Â align=’center’%5D
UP NEXT
The Red Sox will welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to town for a three-game series. Clay Buchholz will take the ball in Monday’s opener as Boston looks to stop a three-game skid.
