Yankees Lose In 10th As Red Sox Rookies Shine
NEW YORK (AP) — Rafael Devers hit a stunning homer off Aroldis Chapman to tie the game in the ninth inning, and fellow Red Sox rookie Andrew Benintendi singled home the go-ahead run in the 10th as Boston beat the New York Yankees 3-2 on Sunday night.
Chris Sale struck out 12 in his latest dominant performance, but Boston trailed 2-1 before the 20-year-old Devers connected on a 103 mph fastball and became the second left-handed hitter to homer off Chapman in his eight-year career.
By winning a battle of hard-throwing bullpens, the Red Sox upped their AL East lead to a season-high 5 1/2 games over rival New York. Boston (67-50) took two of three in the series and is a season-best 17 games over .500 after winning 10 of its past 11.
The teams meet again next weekend at Fenway Park. But first, the scuffling Yankees face the crosstown-rival New York Mets in the Subway Series beginning Monday night in the Bronx.
With one out in the 10th, Chapman (4-2) hit Jackie Bradley Jr. with a 101 mph pitch and walked Eduardo Nunez. Tommy Kahnle walked Mookie Betts to load the bases before Benintendi, who had a pair of three-run homers in Saturday's victory, singled to right field.
Todd Frazier gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the eighth with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly off Matt Barnes. Chapman entered throwing smoke in the ninth, but couldn't close it out.
Devers, playing in his 15th major league game after entering as a pinch hitter in the sixth, drove a 1-2 fastball the other way into the Red Sox bullpen in left-center. He clapped his hands as he rounded first on his fourth home run, which handed Chapman his fourth blown save in 19 chances this season.
The left-hander was lifted in the 10th and walked off the mound to boos.
The only other left-handed hitter to homer off Chapman in his eight-year career was Luke Scott for Baltimore in 2011 against Cincinnati.
Craig Kimbrel (4-0) struck out Brett Gardner with a runner on third to end the ninth and then tossed a perfect 10th.
Sale went seven innings and increased his major league-leading strikeout total to 241. He allowed four hits and one run — which could have been prevented with better defense — but is 0-1 in three stingy starts against the Yankees this year.
The AL ERA leader has 16 double-digit strikeout games this season, three versus the Yankees.
Cool and clear-headed, New York rookie Jordan Montgomery matched Sale for 5 1/3 innings and left to a warm hand from a sellout crowd of 46,610 that included actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who was wearing a Yankees cap.
The day before, Montgomery was hit on the head by a fly ball while signing autographs as the Red Sox took batting practice. He bled from a cut on his ear, but was OK to pitch Sunday.
Each No. 9 batter had a two-out RBI in the fifth. Bradley put Boston ahead with a single before Austin Romine answered with his first career triple, a drive that glanced off the mitt of Betts, a Gold Glove winner, as he backed into the right-field wall.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Red Sox: LHP David Price (elbow inflammation) threw from 90 feet. He is scheduled for a day off Monday before resuming his throwing program Tuesday. ... RHP Carson Smith (elbow) tossed a scoreless inning with two strikeouts Saturday in his third rehab outing, second for Triple-A Pawtucket. Boston manager John Farrell said the "early phase" of Smith's rehab assignment has been encouraging, but the reliever is expected to remain in the minors for several weeks. Smith is recovering from Tommy John surgery in May 2016.
Yankees: 1B Greg Bird (right ankle surgery) is scheduled to work out with the team Tuesday and begin a minor league rehab assignment Wednesday. ... All-Star 2B Starlin Castro (strained right hamstring) plans to work out with the club Thursday and start a rehab assignment Friday. ... DH Matt Holliday (back) was slated to take batting practice.
BULLPEN SHUFFLE
New York recalled left-hander Caleb Smith from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and optioned right-hander Giovanny Gallegos to the same affiliate.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: RHP Doug Fister (2-5, 5.03 ERA) faces AL Central-leading Cleveland at Fenway Park on Monday night in the makeup of an Aug. 2 rainout. Trevor Bauer (10-8, 4.79 ERA) pitches for former Red Sox manager Terry Francona and the Indians, who swept Boston 3-0 during last year's playoffs.
Yankees: Host the depleted Mets (53-62) as this year's Subway Series begins Monday night with the first of two games in the Bronx, followed by a pair at Citi Field. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said the team has talked about ex-Mets farmhand Luis Cessa (0-3) "probably" being recalled from the minors to start the opener in place of injured Masahiro Tanaka. Rafael Montero (1-8) pitches for the Mets.
(Copyright 2017 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
