Last Updated on June 9, 2023 by Inna Zeyger

New York Yankees 2, Boston Red Sox 3

NEW YORK — Garrett Whitlock earned his second victory after stepping into Corey Kluber’s spot in the Red Sox rotation. Rafael Devers and Kiké Hernández both hit home runs as Boston secured a 3-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday night. This marked the first matchup of the year between the two storied rivals, although their encounters have been reduced to 13 games due to the new balanced schedule.

Gerrit Cole, who had been undefeated in his first 13 starts of the season, suffered his first loss, dropping his record to 7-1.

In his 6 1/3 innings of work, Whitlock, who will be celebrating his 27th birthday on Sunday, gave up two runs, with one being earned, and allowed seven hits. He recorded six strikeouts and issued one walk. The right-hander took over in the rotation at the end of May, taking the place of Kluber, a former two-time Cy Young Award winner, who had struggled with a 2-6 record and a 6.26 ERA in his first nine starts.

Whitlock, originally selected by the Yankees in the 18th round of the 2017 amateur draft, joined the Red Sox after being chosen in the December 2020 Rule 5 Draft, which allows teams to select unprotected players from other organizations.

In the ninth inning, Kenley Jansen surrendered consecutive singles to Billy McKinney and Gleyber Torres with two outs. However, he managed to secure his 14th save in 17 opportunities by inducing a popout from Anthony Volpe on the very next pitch. Volpe, who had narrowly missed a potential home run by hitting a foul ball just shy of the left-field pole, showed his frustration by slamming his bat. Unfortunately, Volpe has been struggling at the plate, going 10-for-67 in his recent slide.

Following a stretch of eight losses in their last eleven games, Boston (32-32) managed to even their win-loss record to .500. This achievement is noteworthy in the AL East division, where all five teams currently have a winning record and none are below .500.

A total of 46,007 fans packed Yankee Stadium, marking the sixth sellout of the season for the ballpark. In previous years under the unbalanced schedule (2001-2022), there were typically 18-19 annual Yankees-Red Sox games. Last year, the Yankees had a strong performance against the Red Sox, going 13-6 overall and boasting an impressive 8-2 record against them at home in the Bronx.

Before the game, Red Sox manager Alex Cora expressed his appreciation for the new schedule format that reduces the number of games against division rivals like the Yankees, Toronto, and Tampa Bay. He stated that the team actually prefers playing fewer games against these opponents.

In his six innings on the mound, Cole surrendered two runs and allowed seven hits.

In the fourth inning, Boston took the lead when Triston Casas delivered an RBI single. Following that, the Red Sox had the opportunity to bring out their customary inflatable dumbbells for their dugout celebrations after hitting home runs.

In the sixth inning, Devers extended the lead by hitting his seventh career home run off Cole, launching a 405-foot shot to the opposite field. The ball landed in the Boston bullpen in the left-center field. With that homer, Devers recorded his 14th of the season, breaking a drought since his last two homers in San Diego on May 19th.

In the bottom of the inning, Josh Donaldson narrowed the lead by blasting a 448-foot home run that landed in the netting above Monument Park. It was his sixth hit of the season, with five of those hits being home runs.

In the seventh inning, Kiké Hernández extended the lead back to two runs with a home run off Albert Abreu.

In the seventh inning, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a single, stole second base, and advanced to third base on an error when Connor Wong’s throw bounced into center field. Kiner-Falefa then scored on a wild pitch.

UP NEXT

On Saturday night, the Red Sox will send right-handed pitcher Tanner Houck to the mound. Houck, with a record of 3-5 and an ERA of 5.46, will be tasked with starting the game. The Yankees, on the other hand, will have right-handed pitcher Domingo Germán starting, who holds a record of 3-3 and an ERA of 3.69. Germán will be pitching on five days’ rest.

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