BOSTON — Francisco Cervelli had two hits and drove in a run, former Red Sox left-hander Chris Capuano was solid into the seventh inning and the New York Yankees opened their final series of shortstop Derek Jeter’s career with a 3-2 win over Boston on Friday night.
Jeter, playing the 20th season, had the night off after a scintillating finish to his career in Yankee Stadium. He had a walk-off single to lift New York over Baltimore on Thursday night.
His next game in Fenway Park — likely to be as the DH on Saturday — will match Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle at 152 for the most played by a Yankee in Boston’s fabled ballpark.
Capuano (3-4) gave up one unearned run and four hits, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter in 6 2/3 innings for his first win in five starts. David Robertson pitched the ninth for his 39th save.
Center fielder Rusney Castillo homered for Boston for the second straight night, hitting a solo shot completely out of Fenway over the Green Monster in the seventh inning.
Knuckleballer Steven Wright (0-1) made his first start of the season, giving up two unearned runs in five innings.
Leading 3-1 in the sixth inning, the Yankees added a run on third baseman Zelous Wheeler’s sacrifice fly.
With many regulars out of the lineup for both teams, the game was played in a swift pace of 3 hours, 1 minute — unusual for a Red Sox-Yankees matchup.
Fans chanted Jeter’s name many times, but the Yankees star didn’t appear in the game. Every on-deck hitter coming out of New York’s dugout got booed in the ninth inning.
Chants of “Der-ek Je-ter” started echoing around Fenway Park in the top of the third inning, but the Yankees’ captain was “drained” from the emotion of his final Yankee Stadium at-bat Thursday — a walk-off single — and asked manager Joe Girardi for the day off.
The crowd instead was served a Yankees spring training lineup seen in Fort Myers, Fla., sometime in mid-March and Boston countered with its lineup mostly filled with rookies and late-season callups.
Trailing 1-0 in the third inning, the Yankees scored two unearned runs — thanks to two passed balls by catcher Dan Butler and a throwing error by second baseman Mookie Betts, who was attempting to turn a double play. First baseman Francisco Cervelli drove in the first run with an RBI single and Betts’ error allowed the second to score.
Right fielder Antoan Richardson made a running grab, taking away a two-run homer from left fielder Bryce Brentz in the fifth.
Boston grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Brentz’s RBI single.
NOTES: It’s the first time since 1993 that neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees are going to the playoffs. … Yankees SS Derek Jeter said he was drained from Thursday night’s memorable finish. “I don’t think I really slept — maybe a couple of hours,” he said before telling the media he never asked for a day off before. “I just couldn’t play tonight.” In respect for the rivalry, though, he said he’d play this weekend. “I would be surprised if he didn’t — really surprised,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. … Boston sends RHP Joe Kelly (3-2, 4.00 ERA) against Masahiro Tanaka (13-4, 2.47) on Saturday.