BOSTON — A late rally gave the Yankees a chance to finish a brutal weekend on a high note.
Instead, somehow, it only delayed the misery.
Access the Yankees beat like never before
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.
Try it freeOn a night when Sonny Gray took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, Aroldis Chapman and the Red Sox defense melted down in the ninth inning, and the Yankees took the lead in the 10th, it still all came crumbling down for them in the bottom of the 10th to deliver one last knockout punch on the way back to New York.
After the Yankees took their first lead since Thursday night with two runs in the top of the 10th, the last-place Red Sox came back to win it in the bottom of the frame against Fernando Cruz, as Jarren Duran’s walk-off single lifted them to a 5-4 win that finished off a four-game sweep Sunday night at Fenway Park.
“Obviously a terrible weekend for us,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran (16) hits an RBI single during the tenth inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect“It’s one of those crap moments of the season, crap times of the season where you have a really rough weekend against a division rival. But you got to get over it quickly and understand we got a homestand starting [Monday].”
On a weekend in which they were dominated by Red Sox starting pitching — Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Jake Bennett and Gray combined for 26 ⅔ innings in which they gave up just three runs, 10 hits and six walks while striking out 28 — the Yankees (48-35) have now dropped eight of their past 11 after suffering their first four-game sweep to their archrivals since 2018.
Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe (11) celebrates after scoring during the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Paul Rutherford-Imagn ImagesThe Red Sox (36-46) had not won four straight games all season until this series.
Asked how the Yankees make sure this does not turn into something worse than an awful four games, Boone leaned into the adversity.
“That’s what we do, baby,” he said. “You got to love this stuff. You got to eat this stuff up. It’s a sickness. That’s what the grind is. We got a really good freakin’ team. We played crappy on this trip kind of, feels bad, kind of pissed off. But it’s what we do. It’s what you sign up for. We’ll dig ourselves out of it and get it going here in short order. Bottom line is we didn’t play well this weekend and we got to do better.”
A month that began with the Yankees losing Aaron Judge to the injured list (his timeline for a return is still very fuzzy) is nearing an end with the club looking like it is feeling the effects of not having the back-to-back AL MVP in its lineup — along with Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham.
The Yankees had survived the early going, despite their IL continuing to grow, by getting contributions from different players up and down the lineup on any given night.
But now, they have all gone cold at the same time, resulting in a four-game sweep in which the Yankees combined to hit just 17-for-128 (.133) with 10 walks.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray (54) waves to the crowd while holding his cap during the eighth inning at Fenway Park. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect“I think the success they had this weekend, they were very good at executing,” said Amed Rosario, who broke up Gray’s no-hitter with a single in the eighth inning and then put the Yankees ahead 3-2 with an RBI single to lead off the top of the 10th.
The night had begun like the last few before it, with Gray mowing down the Yankees.
New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. argues with home plate umpire Adam Hamari. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectTolle had retired the first 16 Yankees on Friday night before Bennett carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning Saturday.
Gray took flirting with history a step further before another former disgruntled Yankee, Chapman, flushed it in the ninth.
- WinCraft insulated can coolers
- Team Effort driver head cover
- 47 Brand adjustable cap
- Customizable jersey
- Logo fleece blanket
- 14-ounce sculpted relief coffee mug
But even after the Yankees rallied and went ahead in the 10th — all without Jazz Chisholm Jr., who was ejected in the sixth — thanks in part to right fielder Wilyer Abreu’s second error in as many innings, Cruz could not finish it off in the bottom of the inning.
He left pitches up that turned into a single, double, sacrifice fly and then Duran’s walk-off winner.
Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran (16) hits an RBI single during the tenth inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. AP Photo/Steven Senne“Great teams go through this,” Cruz said. “The best teams go through stretches like this. Champions and great teams in history go through stretches like this, especially games like this.”
But those teams make sure the bad stretches don’t extend too long, which is what the Yankees will be up against when they open a critical homestand Monday.
“We got outplayed,” said Carlos Rodón, who gave up two unearned runs (after an Oswaldo Cabrera fielding error) across five innings. “Although they’re last in the division, they’re still a solid club. They play good baseball. They make things happen, they’re aggressive.
“You got to turn the page and go out [Monday] and win a game. That’s it. Winning cures everything.”
