Again.

This is what these 2018 Yankees do over and over. They give false hope to the opponent. They make their foes believe that today is their day. And then it isn’t. More late-game magic intrudes, more reasons emerge to make this team and this season feel special.

“It was another night of me being proud of how they compete,” Aaron Boone said.

The Yankees — 9-9 and 7 ¹/₂ games out of first on April 20 — now lead the AL East and have the majors’ best record because it is so darn hard for an opponent to record 27 outs and have the lead. The Yankees make amassing those 27 outs a version of baseball hell.

They are the Cardiac Yankees — don’t leave until the final out.

“I love the way our guys compete at the biggest moments,” Boone said.

The victim this time was Craig Kimbrel, which in Boone’s words meant, “You have the best of the best against you.”

When the Red Sox closer entered with first and third and one out in the bottom of the eighth, Boston led 6-5 and all the players in the Yankees dugout were a collective 3-for-40 against him. That is not a misprint — 3-for-40, with the only two RBIs via Giancarlo Stanton seven years ago, his first full season with the Marlins.

Brett Gardner was 1-for-6 with five strikeouts. Aaron Judge was hitless in three at-bats off Kimbrel with two strikeouts.

What followed is now the Yankees script of 2018 — it is never too late. All is possible. Sometimes you expect The Rock to make a cameo, such is the thriller aspect, the implausibility, the drama.

“We have a lot of confidence in one another that we will get the job done if we are down one run or down four or five,” Gardner said.

Gardner, already having busted out of a slump with two doubles, launched a ball over center fielder Mookie Betts’ head for a two-run triple. The Yankees went from one down to one up. And then Judge just destroyed a ball to center.

His ninth homer made it 9-6, which was the final. Made it eight wins in a row for the Yankees — all against teams that began those games in at least a tie for first place. Made it 17 out of 18. Made them 26-10, one game better than the Red Sox in the division and in the sport.

And it meant this too: For the seventh time in the past 13 games, the Yankees won after being tied or behind in the seventh inning or later.

Really, don’t leave.

Their late-game at-bats now rival Shohei Ohtani hitting and pitching for the most must-watch events in the sport.

On Tuesday night, in the opener of this series, the Red Sox had tied the score in the top of the seventh, 2-2. Judge untied it with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning versus Joe Kelly, against whom he was previously hitless in five at-bats with three strikeouts.

We have learned with these Yankees you can throw such stats out. They are going to have relentless, remorseless at-bats, particularly at the most critical moments. And they are going to have lots of heroes up and down the order.

The winning surge Tuesday was set up from the bottom of the lineup when Neil Walker doubled and Gleyber Torres walked. Guess what happened Wednesday? Walker doubled leading off the eighth off Matt Barnes, who was told with one out to pitch Torres carefully, don’t challenge him and a walk was OK. Think about that — Torres was playing his 17th game. It spoke to respect for his precocious skills and also the belief that Kimbrel was warmed to go after Gardner and Judge.

“A lot of our young guys, the moment is not too big for them,” Gardner said.

Or Gardner, who got ahead 3-0 on Kimbrel, moved to a full count and then unloaded to bring frenzy to the Stadium. Judge then turned the volume as high as it was all night — as loud as it has ever been in this version in May.

“It was bedlam,” Boone said.

It also was inevitable — or at least felt that way — that this back-and-forth contest would be decided by Yankees bats late.

The Yankees led 1-0, Boston 2-1, the Yankees 4-2, the Red Sox 6-5 after Hanley Ramirez unloaded a two-run homer off Chad Green in the seventh. Momentary joy for the Red Sox — Charlie Brown thinking this time he will actually kick the football.

But no lead is safe versus these Yankees, certainly not in the Bronx. This lineup just refused to go quietly, found magic in the late innings.

Again.