The Red Sox arrived in The Bronx on Thursday wobbling.
They had lost three straight games, seven of 10 and dropped three of their previous four series.
Then they saw the pinstripes in the opposing dugout.
Suddenly, all was well.
The Yankees, who entered the series having won five straight, have that kind of effect on the Red Sox this year — they bring the best out of their bitter rivals.
“It’s a division contender, so we’re going to play a little harder,” Red Sox catcher and former Yankees prospect Carlos Narváez said. “That nine innings were proof of that.”
They sure were.
Counting Saturday’s 12-1 rout at the Stadium, the Red Sox have taken all three series between the AL East foes.
They have won eight of nine contests and have outscored the Yankees by an absurd 54-31.
The latest victory was not in doubt once Trevor Story drove in two runs with a two-out double in the third inning.
AL Cy Young Award candidate Garrett Crochet was cruising, allowing only a Giancarlo Stanton solo homer while striking out 11 over seven brilliant frames, and the Red Sox kept adding on.
Six Red Sox had at least two hits and they piled on seven runs in the ninth.
“For us, every win is satisfying, it doesn’t matter. It’s fun to come here and play well, I’ll tell you that,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We play well here, we’ve been playing well here for a while. It’s a great stage, we love it.”
Boston sits in position for the first AL wild-card spot, while the Yankees and Mariners are tied for the second one at 1 ½ games behind the Red Sox.
The Royals are three games in back of them.
After this blowout, in what has been a one-sided series so far, the Red Sox took the high road.
They complimented the Yankees.
They declined to say they’re in their heads or this will have any impact when the Yankees visit Fenway Park on Sept. 12-14.
The Red Sox are simply trying to win as many games as possible.
The Yankees happen to be in their way.
“Just playing good baseball. I don’t know that there’s a certain thing you can pinpoint,” Story said. “Obviously, tensions are high, the rivalry and all that. We’re just playing good baseball and we ran into them at the right point.”
In the ninth, as the lead kept expanding, the Stadium began to thin out.
“Let’s go Red Sox” chants could be heard on a few occasions.
“Obviously, we know our fans are passionate and they travel well, too,” Story said. “It’s always good to hear that.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
