J.D. Martinez hit a tiebreaking home run against Dellin Betances (1-2) leading off the eighth inning, just beyond Aaron Judge’s reach at the right-field wall, and the Boston Red Sox rebounded after wasting a four-run lead to beat New York 5-4 Thursday night and send the Yankees to only their second loss in 19 games.
In another dramatic game before a sellout crowd, Boston moved back into a tie with the Yankees for the AL East lead at 26-11, the best record in the major leagues. The rivals don’t meet again until June 29 in the Bronx.
Boston built a 4-0 lead against CC Sabathia as Hanley Ramirez drove in three runs with an RBI groundout in the first, an RBI single in a two-run third and a solo homer in the fifth just before a 55-minute rain delay. But the Yankees tied the score in the seventh.
Joe Kelly (2-0) got the win and Craig Kimbrel closed for his 10th save in 12 chances.
Mookie Betts had three hits, raising his batting average to a major league-leading .361.
New York had won eight straight games overall and 11 in a row at home.
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