Yankees 5, Red Sox 1
BOSTON -- The New York Yankees took advantage of some huge breaks in a three-run fourth inning and went on to a 5-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.
Ahead 1-0 on a mammoth home run by Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees had second and third and one out in the fourth when Boston ace Clay Buchholz left the game with tightness in his right elbow. The Red Sox were then guilty of three straight infield miscues, two of them by first baseman Mike Napoli, and Rodriguez capped the rally with a bases-loaded walk.
The win was the third in a row for the first-place Yankees, while the last-place Red Sox saw a four-game winning streak stopped and fell back to 6 1/2 games out in the AL East.
Right-hander Michael Pineda (9-5) went 6 2/3 solid innings to end a two-start losing streak, allowing only a solo homer to Mookie Betts, in the fifth inning. Left-hander Justin Wilson, righty Dellin Betances and lefty Andrew Miller finished up with 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief -- picking up five strikeouts on seven outs.
Left fielder Brett Gardner, named to the All-Star team Thursday, had a hustle RBI single and Jacoby Ellsbury also drove in a run with a single as the Yankees beat their rivals for the fifth time in seven games this season.
Buchholz (7-7) had been 4-0 with a 0.87 ERA in his four previous starts. The right-hander has had a history of injuries.
Rodriguez, 1-for-14 coming in and coming off a 4-for-20 homestand, hit his 17th homer of the season all the way out of Fenway Park – the 671st of his career.
Betts, who hit his 10th homer, extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He is 14-for-43 over that span.
On the Yankees' first 2015 visit to Fenway in May, Rodriguez drilled a bullet that got over the Green Monster in the blink of an eye. This time, his homer was far more majestic, leaving the park entirely.
It came with two outs in the first, after Betts had made a diving catch of a looping drive by Yankee counterpart and former Red Sox center fielder Ellsbury leading off the game.
Boston left a two-out runner in each of the first two innings and had runners at first and second with one out in the third. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who didn't win the fan balloting for the last All-Star spot, then rapped a hard grounder that shortstop Didi Gregorius turned into a nifty double play.
In the bizarre fourth, catcher Brian McCann led off with a single and rode to third on a one-out double by Gregorius. Second baseman Stephen Drew then ripped the first pitch down the right-field line that was barely foul in a bid for a three-run homer. One pitch later, Buchholz was gone.
Robbie Ross Jr. relieved and Drew reached when first baseman Mike Napoli booted his grounder and then made a bad toss to Ross, who missed first. Ellsbury reached on an error by second baseman Brock Holt as a run scored. Left fielder Brett Gardner then hit a grounder to Napoli and beat Ross to first, his head-first slide making it 3-0. Rodriguez walked for another run.
Betts hit a home run with one out in the Boston fifth.
NOTES: Yankees 3B Chase Headley missed his third straight game with a calf injury. He said he was ready, but it appeared he would sit out the rest of the weekend. ... Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia, on the disabled list with a hamstring strain, is also likely to sit out and get the extra All-Star break rest. ... Slumping Red Sox 1B Mike Napoli was back in the lineup after sitting for three games. "We're going to need his production and tonight is an opportunity for him to get back on track," manager John Farrell said before the game. ... RHP Ivan Nova pitches for the Yankees against rookie LH Eduardo Rodriguez in Saturday night's second game of the series. ... Red Sox C Blake Swihart (foot) began a rehab assignment as the DH for Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday night.