The Boston Red Sox got to New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole early on Sunday afternoon, and hit four homeruns to finish off a three game sweep with a 9-2 win at Fenway Park.
Kike Hernandez immediately took Cole deep on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning, lining one into the monster seats in left. After Alex Verdugo doubled, JD Martinez walked, and Xander Bogaerts flied out, Rafael Devers hammered an 0-2 fastball deep into the seats in right for a three-run homer that traveled 451 feet. Martinez led off the third with a solo homer into the batters eye in center, and Christian Vazquez added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0. After Eduardo Rodriguez blanked the opposition for the first five innings, for the first time this season, Aaron Judge would put New York (40-37) on the board with a two-run homerun to left in the sixth inning. Darwinzon Hernandez came out of the Red Sox bullpen in the seventh, but with one out he walked Miguel Andujar and allowed a single to Clint Frazier to end his short outing. Garrett Whitlock walked Gary Sanchez to load the bases, but then struck out DJ LeMahieu and got Judge to pop out. Boston (47-31) added on with an RBI single from Devers in the bottom of the seventh, and then a leadoff solo homer from Vazquez and also an RBI double by Hernandez in the eighth that finished the scoring.
Rodriguez (6-4) allowed two runs on five hits with no walks and struck out eight in 6.0 innings. It is the first win since May 7 at Baltimore for the left hander. Devers led the way with three hits and four RBI, while Hernandez, Bogaerts, Vazquez, and Danny Santana had two hits a piece. LeMahieu had two hits for New York, while Cole (8-4) took the loss allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits in 5.0 innings. Boston will start a four game home series with Kansas City on Monday night. They will send RHP Garrett Richards (4-5, 4.74 ERA) to the bump against LHP Danny Duffy (4-3, 1.81) for the Royals in the opener. The Red Sox will begin play Monday 1/2 game up on Tampa Bay for first place in the American League East.
