Anthony Volpe gave the Yankees a glimmer of hope with a late home run on Sunday, but that didn’t stop the Red Sox from sweeping their division rival with a 6-5 win at Yankee Stadium.
It looked like the Yankees had changed the game’s momentum when Volpe responded to Justin Turner’s three-run, seventh-inning homer with a three-run shot of his own in the bottom of the frame. But Turner came up clutch again in the ninth with an RBI double off Clay Holmes. That ultimately handed the Yankees their eighth straight loss after they failed to drive in a few ninth-inning baserunners.
The Bombers are now 60-64.
The Yankees scored their first two runs on solo homers from Kyle Higashioka and Gleyber Torres. Both came against Nick Pivetta, who threw five innings and struck out eight after following opener Josh Winckowski.
Volpe’s homer came off John Schreiber.
Meanwhile, Clarke Schmidt bounced back nicely after the right-hander surrendered eight earned runs against the Braves in his last start on Aug. 14. On Sunday, Schmidt totaled 5.2 innings, four hits, two walks, eight strikeouts and 97 pitches.
Boston scored its first run off Schmidt on a Rafael Devers solo shot into the second deck. The first-inning home run came after Schmidt did not receive a strike-three call earlier in the at-bat.
The Red Sox scored another run in the sixth inning when a potential double play ball went wrong at every turn. Gleyber Torres fielded the ball cleanly but delivered a low flip to Volpe at second base. Volpe then sailed a hurried throw toward the Yankees’ dugout. DJ LeMahieu chased it down and threw home, but not in time to stop a run from scoring.
Michael King served up Turner’s homer in the seventh.
The Yankees appeared to take a 6-5 lead in the eighth when Boston left fielder Rob Refsnyder slipped while fielding a Volpe single. The misstep allowed Isiah Kiner-Falefa to race home, but he was eventually called out at the plate after a lengthy review of the bang-bang play.
It was also determined that Connor Wong did not block the plate.
With another losing set behind them, the Yankees will try to win their second series since July began when the Nationals come to town on Tuesday.
While Washington is also in last place, the young team has shown signs of growth lately. The Nats, who had a night game on Sunday, entered the day with an 11-6 record in August.
Washington has yet to announce its starting pitchers for the series. As for the Yankees, Carlos Rodón is expected to return from a hamstring injury on Tuesday. Luis Severino will get another start on Wednesday, while Thursday’s starter hasn’t been determined yet.
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