The Yankees hung nine runs on the Red Sox bullpen in the top of the seventh inning, then held off a late Boston rally to win 12-8 and sweep the two-game series in London between the AL East rivals.
Like so many other defeats this season, the Red Sox cruised through the first six innings with a two-run lead before the relievers imploded. In this case, they allowed the Yankees to go from down two to blowing the game open in a single inning. Starter Eduardo Rodriguez (5.1 innings) and Colten Brewer combined to allow just two runs over the first six frames; Marcus Walden, Matt Barnes, Josh Taylor, and Ryan Brasier combined to allow nine.
Yanks reliever Chase Adams struggled in the eighth inning with four runs allowed in just two thirds of an inning. Closer Aroldis Chapman allowed a leadoff double to Marco Hernandez in the bottom of the ninth, but slammed the door after that with three strikeouts to pick up the save.
New York first baseman D.J. LeMahieu went 3-for-6 on the day to raise his season average to .345, driving in two runs in the victory. He and Gary Sanchez both batted twice and combined for three RBIs during the Yankees’ nine-run onslaught in the seventh.
The Red Sox fell to 44-40 with the loss, which puts them 11 games behind the Yankees (54-28) for first place in the AL East. New York outscored Boston 29-21 over the course of the two-game slugfest.