The Boston Red Sox entered their four-game series with the New York Yankees with a 5.5-game lead in the American League East and a world of momentum.
And in the blink of an eye, it vanished.
The Yankees put the finishing touches on a dominating series performance Sunday night when they crushed the Red Sox 9-2 at Yankee Stadium. New York took three out of four from the Sox and trimmed Boston’s division lead to 3.5 games.
Chris Sale got the start for the Red Sox, but he didn’t last long as the Yankees blasted three home runs off the left-hander and chased him after 4 1/3 innings.
With the loss, the Red Sox fell to 77-60, while the Yankees improved to 73-63.
Here’s how it all went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Deflating.
The Red Sox had a chance to bury the Yankees in the AL East race, but lost three of four and were pummeled with their ace on the mound.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Starlin Castro shot a two-out three-run double down the left field line to give New York a 7-1 lead in the sixth inning. The Yankees would tack on some more runs, but that was the knockout blow.
ON THE BUMP
— Sale’s final regular-season start against the rival Yankees didn’t go according to plan, as New York drove up the left-hander’s pitch count and used the long ball to chase him from the game.
The Yankees threatened in the second inning when they put runners on the corners with two outs for Brett Gardner. But Sale got the speedy outfielder to tap back to him to end the frame.
But New York struck in the third inning when Chase Headley launched a solo home run over the left field fence to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
The Bronx Bombers played long ball again in the fourth when Matt Holliday crushed a solo shot to center field to stretch New York’s lead to two. And Todd Frazier followed by tattooing a solo shot of his own to make it 3-0.
Sale surrendered a one-out single in the fifth before being lifted. He allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking two in 4 1/3 innings. He threw 109 pitches (71 strikes) before being replaced by Joe Kelly.
— Kelly got the final two outs of the fifth inning but was pulled after issuing a walk with one out in the sixth inning. He was charged with a run in an inning of work.
— Robby Scott replaced Kelly and surrendered a single to Jacoby Ellsbury and issued a walk to Gardner to load the bases. He didn’t record an out and was charged with two runs.
— Addison Reed entered the game with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth. Reed struck out Headley for the second out of the inning, but Gary Sanchez reached on an infield single to make it 4-1. Castro then blew the game open with a three-run double to right field, giving the Yankees a six-run lead. But the Yankees weren’t done, as Aaron Judge chased Reed from the game with a towering two-run home run to make 9-1. Reed allowed three inherited runners to score and was charged with three runs of his own in 1/3 of an inning.
— Matt Barnes recorded the final out of the sixth inning.
— Heath Hembree pitched a scoreless seventh.
— Blaine Boyer allowed a hit in an inning of work.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— The Red Sox got on the board in the sixth when a passed ball by Sanchez allowed Eduardo Nunez to scoot home.
— Boston got the first two runners on in the seventh, but Tommy Kahnle was able to get out of the inning unscathed.
— Sandy Leon knocked in the Red Sox’s second run with an RBI single in the ninth inning.
— Mitch Moreland went 1-for-3 with a double.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. and Rafael Devers each went 1-for-3 with a single.
— Sam Travis went 1-for-1 with a single.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
Baseball is a fickle sport.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox open a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday. Rick Porcello will take the ball for Boston and will be opposed by J.A. Happ. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports Images
