Yankees Beat Price, Red Sox, Avoid Sweep
NEW YORK (AP) — With a chance to pitch the Red Sox to a rare sweep on the road, David Price couldn't get it done.
Masahiro Tanaka topped Price in their first matchup to win his fourth straight decision, and the New York Yankees ended Boston's six-game winning streak Sunday night with a 3-1 victory.
The Red Sox haven't swept a series of at least three games away from home since May 2013 in Minnesota. They haven't won seven in a row overall since June 1, 2014.
"You're the guy who goes out there and doesn't help us win that seventh one, that's tough," said Price, in his first season with Boston after signing a $217 million, seven-year contract.
Starlin Castro keyed New York's three-run fourth inning with a double that scored Didi Gregorius from first base.
No. 9 batter Austin Romine lined a go-ahead single with two outs off the glove of diving second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Jacoby Ellsbury added another RBI single off Price (9-7), who gave up 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings as the Yankees prevented a three-game sweep.
"It's hard to take," Price said. "It can be one bad inning, one bad pitch. At this level, that's enough to lose your team the ballgame, and that was the case today."
Price had only one strikeout following three consecutive outings with 10. Pedroia homered early for Boston, which remained two games behind first-place Baltimore in the AL East.
"We're right in this all the way through the end," manager John Farrell said.
Boston's last sweep at Yankee Stadium came in June 2011.
"I'm definitely not satisfied," Price said. "You guys are tired of hearing it. I'm tired of saying it. Just got to execute."
Following his team's loss on Saturday, manager Joe Girardi said the Yankees had to turn things around immediately and called Sunday night "probably as important (a) game that we've had in July in a long time."
New York responded with excellent pitching and a handful of timely hits.
All-Star slugger Carlos Beltran even called it "a must-win" game. Well aware he could be an attractive trade target if the Yankees (45-46) decide to sell before the Aug. 1 deadline, Beltran said the current 10-game homestand is important to "what the future holds for a lot of guys here."
Tanaka (7-2) fanned seven with one walk over six innings of three-hit ball in his latest stingy performance on extra rest. Pitching with six days between starts, the Japanese right-hander improved to 6-0 in 11 starts with more than four days off.
He is 1-2 with a 5.33 ERA in his other eight games.
Tanaka had Red Sox hitters in baseball's highest-scoring lineup chasing sliders and splitters below the strike zone. He threw just 87 pitches — but that was all the Yankees needed because their three big bullpen arms were all fresh and ready to go.
Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman combined for three hitless innings. Chapman worked the ninth for his 18th save in 19 chances, and the Yankees upped their record to 17-1 when all three pitch in the same game.
LOOSE WITH THE LEFTIES
Price, who leads the AL with 141 strikeouts, fell to 14-9 in 34 career games (33 starts) against the Yankees — including 1-2 with a 7.79 ERA this season. The left-hander gave up six hits to left-handed hitters (in 11 at-bats), matching a career high. "They've always been a tough team against me," Price said. "They put the bat on the ball early, and they have a really good approach. I've faced these guys a lot of times, and I just need to make my adjustments."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Red Sox: RHP Junichi Tazawa (shoulder impingement) threw all his stuff in a 40-pitch bullpen session. But the team would like Tazawa to face hitters in a simulated game — likely Tuesday — before activating him from the 15-day disabled list, Farrell said. ... OF Chris Young, on the DL since June 24 with a strained right hamstring, has started to swing off a tee but there is no timetable for a minor league rehab assignment yet, Farrell said. ... C Blake Swihart (sprained left ankle) is taking batting practice from both sides of the plate, and the club hopes he can begin a rehab assignment sometime around next weekend. Swihart probably will start off playing in the outfield before moving behind the plate, Farrell said.
Yankees: Slumping 1B Mark Teixeira sat out after fouling a ball off his left foot Saturday. He had a CT scan that was negative.
UP NEXT
Following a day off, RHP Rick Porcello (11-2, 3.66 ERA) starts Tuesday night at Fenway Park against former Boston RHP Jake Peavy (5-7, 5.09) and the major league-leading San Francisco Giants in the opener of a nine-game homestand. That begins a stretch of 43 scheduled games in 44 days for the Red Sox. Boston's next 20 games are against teams outside the AL East. Farrell said the team thought Porcello would benefit from a few extra days of rest out of the All-Star break.
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