For a second straight game the Yankees kept the Red Sox down, beating them handily 9-1 before a sellout crowd on Thursday. New York has held Boston to one or few runs in back-to-back games for the first time in the same season since August 7-8, 2009.
With Thursday’s win the Yankees have a 3.0 game lead in the American League East, matching their largest lead of the season. They’ve won six of their last seven against the Red Sox, including six of the last seven games played at Yankee Stadium.
On Thursday Sox starter David Price was thoroughly ineffective, allowing six runs on eight hits over just 5.0 IP. Price walked four and struck out four while allowing two home runs to Gary Sanchez. The New York backstop now has four home runs over a career eight at-bats against Price. Only Jose Bautista has more (six HR over 59 career at-bats).
Sánchez is the seventh player with multiple home runs in a single game off Price. The others are the Rays Curt Casali (2015), the Angels Albert Pujols (2014), the Yankees Mark Teixeira (2011), the Orioles Mark Reynolds (2011), the Blue Jays Jose Bautista (2011), and the Red Sox Victor Martinez (2010).
Impressive Aaron Judge was 3-for-4 against the Sox including a center field single that was clocked with an exit velocity of 119.8 MPH, the hardest hit ball of any player this season according to Statcast.
For Price it was his first game with six or more earned runs and four walks in 5.0 or less innings since July 18, 2010. “I’ve got to be more efficient,” Price said after the game, adding that he has to “make better pitches when I have guys in that pitchers count,…I wasn’t able to do it tonight.”
Again and again the Sox offense was impotent. Three up, three down. In all, Boston managed just four singles. Boston was 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position over the three game set. They’re now a remarkable 0-for-20 with RISP in five games against the Yankees this season. Thursday’s was just the fourth time this season that the Sox didn’t manage even one extra-base hit, the first such game since April 27 (also against the Yankees).
The Red Sox, fortunate to end the road trip even at 5-5, head home to face the Tigers this weekend. The Yankees will take on the Orioles for three at home.