Yankees Beat Red Sox 8-3, Cut Lead To 1
BOSTON (AP) — Gerrit Cole took a two-hit shutout into the sixth inning and Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run homer to lead the Yankees to an 8-3 victory Friday night, snapping Boston's seven-game winning streak and pulling New York within one game of the Red Sox atop the wild-card standings.
With Boston in its lucky yellow jerseys and Fenway Park sold to capacity for just the third time this season, Cole (16-8) no-hit the Red Sox for 3 2/3 innings and New York coasted to its fourth straight win. In a potential preview of the AL wild-card matchup, Nathan Eovaldi (10-9) barely made it out of the first inning and couldn't get through the third.
Boston holds the first American League wild card, with the Yankees a game back and in position for the second spot. Toronto dropped two games behind New York following a 3-1 loss at Minnesota.
Unless the Blue Jays — or Seattle (two games back), or Oakland (four) — can catch one of them, the Red Sox and Yankees would meet in a one-game playoff Oct. 5 for the right to advance to an AL Division Series.
Bouncing back from perhaps his worst start of the season, Cole allowed three runs on five hits and three walks, striking out six in six innings. Stanton and Gleyber Torres had three hits apiece for the Yankees, who opened the season with seven straight losses against their AL East archrivals but have since beaten them seven out of 10 tries.
J.D. Martinez broke up Cole's no-hit bid with a double down the right field line with two out in the fourth. Rafael Devers spoiled the shutout with a three-run homer in the sixth that made it 7-3.
Torres led off the seventh with a fly ball to straightaway center that was knocked back onto the field by a fan in the front row of the bleachers. There was some confusion before the umpires confirmed that it was a home run.
José Iglesias and Kiké Hernandez singled off Yankees reliever Clay Holmes with two out in the seventh before Wandy Peralta struck out pinch-hitter Bobby Dalbec to end Boston's last big threat.
ACE IN THE HOLE
With erstwhile ace Chris Sale only making seven starts so far after recovering from Tommy John surgery — and only once completing as many as six innings — Eovaldi had been mentioned as a possible No. 1 starter for Boston's playoff run. But he allowed seven runs on seven hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings.
The first three Yankees batters reached base and scored against Eovaldi. Aaron Judge doubled in one run, took third on Stanton's RBI groundout and scored on Torres' two-out single.
Stanton hit his 32nd homer of the season in the third. Eovaldi left after giving up Joey Gallo's single and walking Brett Gardner; Hirokazu Sawamura replaced him and got Kyle Higashioka to pop the ball up, but first baseman Kyle Schwarber let it drop for a run-scoring single that made it 7-0.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: RHP Jameson Taillon (ankle) is with the team for the road trip and manager Aaron Boone said there is a "good chance" Taillon returns for one of the games against Toronto. He has not pitched since Sept. 6.
Red Sox: Reinstated OF Jarren Duran and INF Jonathan Araúz from the COVID-19 injured list and optioned them to Triple-A Worcester. To make room for them on the 40-man roster, RHPs Geoff Hartlieb and Yacksel Rios were designated for assignment.
UP NEXT
Yankees LHP Nestor Cortes (2-2, 2.79 ERA) has struck out 30 and walked six over 22 1/3 innings in four starts. He'll oppose Red Sox righty Nick Pivetta (9-7, 4.63), who is winless in his past five starts and allowed four runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Yankees on Aug. 18.
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