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.
Rays 3, Astros 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Coming home from a 1-6 road trip, the Tampa Bay Rays got back on track Friday night at Tropicana Field, rallying behind starter Erasmo Ramirez for a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros.
Ramirez (8-3) held the Astros to one run on four hits in six innings, his ninth start this season allowing one run or less, one short of the major-league lead. The Rays (44-45) scored two runs on RBI groundouts in the sixth to take the lead, adding a run in the seventh on a solo home run by right fielder Brandon Guyer.
Tampa Bay had lost 15 of 18 coming in, while Houston (49-40) has now lost four straight and six of seven. The Astros have scored a total of four runs in their last four games. Even the Rays bullpen stepped up, with Jake McGee, Kevin Jepsen and Brad Boxberger combining for three scoreless innings of one-hit relief, retiring the last nine in order. Boxberger picked up his 21st save with a perfect ninth.
Astros starter Collin McHugh (9-5) had held the Rays to one hit in five innings, but the Rays got to him in the sixth, with catcher Rene Rivera leading off with a single off shortstop Carlos Correa’s glove, then red-hot designated hitter John Jaso hitting a double. Left fielder David DeJesus and third baseman Evan Longoria followed with RBI groundouts for a 2-1 lead. Guyer added the home run, his third of the year, in the seventh
Astros starter Collin McHugh dominated the Rays in the first five innings, holding them to one hit — a single in the first by first baseman James Loney — and striking out six while walking one.
Rays starter Erasmo Ramirez, who came in with the American League’s second-best ERA since April 19 at 2.12, was in control as well. His only real mistake was a solo home run by Astros left fielder Colby Rasmus in the second inning.
Reds 1, Marlins 0
MIAMI — Right-hander Mike Leake pitched eight scoreless innings and right fielder Jay Bruce slugged a solo home run, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 1-0 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday night at Marlins Park.
All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth inning for his 18th save of the season. Chapman reached 103 mph with his fastball, striking out the side.
Leake (6-5), who beat the Marlins 5-0 on June 19 and had a 4-1 record and a 1.65 ERA in five career starts against the franchise entering Friday, was at his best yet again.
He did not throw harder than 91 mph but had great movement on his pitches, allowing three hits and one walk. The only extra-base hit he allowed came in the eighth, when newly acquired pinch-hitter Casey McGahee doubled off the wall in left, missing a game-tying homer by a few feet.