Red Sox Notes: Boston’s ‘Good Night’ Keeps Playoff Hopes Alive

The Boston Red Sox walked off the field with their heads held high, beginning their three-game series with the New York Yankees in strong fashion Friday night.

Still in contention, watching as the Yankees crumble into turmoil little by little, the Red Sox did exactly what they needed to do. They took advantage of a miserable New York lineup that couldn’t hang around, and flexed their offensive muscle on the other side, snagging a pivotal 8-3 win at Yankee Stadium.

That’s the ideal start with just 40 games left to play and plenty of hungry playoff hopefuls running the same race to the finish line as the Red Sox.

“This is when baseball’s fun,” Justin Turner said, as seen on Apple TV’s postgame coverage. “Going in the stretch and these races and you gotta show up and play every game like it means something and it was good to get this one to start the series.”

Turner added: “It was a good night for us.”

Boston showed New York exactly why Yankees fans are watching a bottom-tier team.

New York went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, striking out 11 times, and got held to one run through six innings by Red Sox starter Brayan Bello. The Yankees didn’t have any starting pitching either, getting just 2 1/3 innings out of Jhony Brito. From then on, it was smooth sailing for Boston and a dragged-out nightmare for New York — now seven games back in the American League wild-card standings.

“It’s huge for the fans. We feel the energy when we play here against these guys,” Turner explained. “Fenway’s always packed out when we play at our own place, which we’ll do again. So, it’s just fun baseball.”

Here are more notes from Friday night’s Red Sox-Yankees game:

— Bello, who improved to 9-7 with a win, is particularly dynamite when pitching against the Yankees. In five career starts, the right-hander has allowed just five earned runs while never going under five innings. Bello now has a 1.45 ERA in a combined 31 innings thrown when facing New York, according to Red Sox senior manager of media relations and baseball information J.P. Long.

— Boston sits three games back of the Mariners for the final playoff spot in the AL. The Red Sox still have Seattle and Toronto (0.5 games back) ahead of them.

— Masataka Yoshida continues to do damage at the plate against the Yankees, now hitting .304 with a home run, two doubles and seven RBIs in six games.

“He’s a very accomplished hitter and what he’s doing in his first season at the major league level — I don’t care how old you are,” Turner said. “You come over here, you’re in an entirely new country, don’t speak the language, the way he’s gotten comfortable fast has been spectacular.”

— Boston is now 6-1, outscoring New York, 40-18, this season.

— The Red Sox return to NESN for Saturday night’s Game 2 of the series with the Yankees. Boston and New York will meet again at 1:05 p.m. ET, and you watch the game, plus a full hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.