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BOSTON – Domingo German simply dominated the Boston Red Sox. Never more than in the seventh inning, when the Yankees right-hander knocked out stars JD Martinez, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and rookie Jarren Duran.
As the German then left the mound with an intact hit and a solid lead, there was no way to imagine what was on the bridge.
Held smoothly in the eighth by the German and looking weak, Alex Verdugo and the Red Sox suddenly erupted for five points to shake Fenway Park and take New York 5-4 on Sunday.
The old stadium was almost silent all afternoon until Verdugo opened the eighth with a long double for Boston’s first hit, and he raised his arms in celebration at second base.
By the time Kike Hernandez slipped home headfirst on Xander Bogaerts’ sacrifice volley with the go-ahead to cap the rally, fans were in a frenzy.
“I felt like just removing that hit allowed everyone to take a big, deep breath, no longer having to worry about not having a hit,” Verdugo said. . “That round was crazy. To go without a hitting seven innings, to put five in eighth, that’s one of the craziest comebacks I’ve ever done. ”
With their 32nd victory at the top of the major leagues, the Red Sox reclaimed the top spot in LA East, one game ahead of Tampa Bay. It was their 10th win in 13 games this year against their rivals and erased a tough 4-3 loss on Saturday when New York scored four times in the eighth.
What a difference a few hits have made. Before those, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was pretty dull in the Boston dugout.
“Not great, to be honest with you,” Cora said. “Anyone who says, ‘We’re down to a sure hit or a base runner to make this happen’ … I didn’t feel that. I felt a lot of people frustrated. (German) was amazing . ”
The Yankees, meanwhile, suffered another brutal loss in a busy season. They have lost three of four in the series and have lost nine games behind Boston. The Yankees now have three losses this season as they led by four or more runs in the eighth inning or later. This matches the highest number of such losses in a single season in franchise history, and it is the first time they have suffered three such losses since 1993, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. .
“A very difficult one, obviously. Domingo was great,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “It is a difficult challenge that we must overcome. Another extremely difficult.”
Boston was trailing 4-0 as Verdugo doubled down to the deep right, and German was lifted after Boone’s hit.
“You know throwing a hit is one of the hardest things to do in baseball,” German said through a performer. “I knew I had a sure shot. I was doing pitches to try to be as careful as possible. Verdugo was able to connect with it. I thought it was a good pitch.”
Jonathan Loaisiga (7-4) relieved, and Boston went wild with four consecutive hits. Hunter Renfroe netted an RBI brace, Christian Vazquez scored a point and Hernandez followed with an RBI brace, reducing it to 4-3.
Zack Britton relieved and pinched hitter Kevin Plawecki’s groundout tackled the tie. Hernandez rushed in and beat right fielder Greg Allen’s throw on Bogaerts’ sacrifice volley.
“It’s a bad day for me. It’s difficult,” Loaisiga said through an interpreter. “It hurts because the starter was strong. You come into the game hoping to do your job and it doesn’t work.”
German was trying the first without a hit by an opponent at Fenway since Detroit’s Jim Bunning in 1958, when he retired on the fly, future Hall of Famer Ted Williams for the final.
Mixing his well-spotted fastball in the mid-90mph range with a shift and a curve, the 28-year-old German put out 10 batters and walked only one.
With a 3-0 lead, he started the seventh by stoking Duran. Bogaerts also struck out, swinging a passed ball that extended the set. German struck out Devers and Martinez, with four strikeouts on third strike strikes.
There have been seven non-hitting games in major tournaments this year, one short of the big-league record set in 1884, the first season in which the overhand pitch was allowed.
There were two near misses on Saturday night: Patrick Sandoval of the Angels saw his offer shattered with a withdrawal in the ninth to Minnesota, and Framber Valdez and the Houston reliever box attempted the eighth.
Brandon Workman (1-2) took the win and Matt Barnes got the last three strikeouts for his 21st save.
“It was a pretty special comeback,” Hernandez said.
Rougned Odor had a solo tour and an RBI single for New York. He appeared with a runner in second place to end it.
Yankees infielder Gio Urshela, activated from the pre-game COVID-19 injured list, managed a single RBI to make it 2-0 in the fourth after Gleyber Torres doubled up and advanced on a sacrifice.
Odeur’s single bloop, which scored points, brought the score to 1-0 in the third.
Boston starter Martin Perez allowed three runs in six innings, striking out six and hitting two.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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