BOSTON — The New York Yankees nearly let a golden chance slip away Saturday at Fenway Park, stranding runner after runner and wasting opportunities to put the game out of reach. Instead, their pitching staff delivered under pressure to seal a tense 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox.
What could have been a routine afternoon turned into a tight finish. The Yankees left 11 men on base and repeatedly failed with runners in scoring position. Starter Max Fried and four relievers prevented a collapse that might have damaged their playoff standing.
Yankees create their own drama with wasted opportunities
Struggles began early despite a fast start. The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the first inning after building a two-run lead. But Jose Caballero and Austin Wells both struck out looking to waste the chance.
That pattern continued throughout the game. Wells endured the worst of it. He struck out four times, often with men on base. His biggest misses came in the third when the Yankees catcher fanned with two runners in scoring position and again in the eighth with the same setup.
The Yankees’ inability to add on left fans uneasy. Ryan McMahon also failed to produce in the eighth when he came up with runners on base.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. proved the exception. He finished with three hits and three RBIs. The Yankees infielder drove in the first run with an infield single in the opening inning, added another RBI with a sharp grounder in the third, and blasted his 29th homer of the season in the fifth.
“We’ve said it all year long that we’ve been playing to everybody else’s level instead of our own level,” Chisholm said. “We’ve been letting games go. We’ve been losing games ourselves, making errors, having poor at-bats and stuff like that. I feel like any team that thinks they’re better than us, they should know when we step on the field that we’re coming with relentlessness.”
Fried battles through constant adversity for milestone victory
Fried earned his league-best 17th win with a performance built on toughness. The Yankees ace allowed nine hits and two walks across 5⅓ innings and threw 105 pitches. Only once, in the third inning, did he retire Boston in order.
The Yankees left-hander held the Red Sox scoreless through four innings before Alex Bregman ended the shutout with a solo homer in the fifth. Fried’s outing ended in the sixth after three straight singles and an RBI hit from Connor Wong cut the lead to 4-2.
“Baseball at this time of year, it’s all intense,” Fried said. “Every game we go out there, we feel like we need to go out there and win it. Knowing we’re both tight in the standings, don’t have many opportunities to go out there and start, just wanted to make sure I left it all out there.”
With the win, the Yankees ace became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball to reach 17 victories this season, showing consistency even when his outings have been far from easy.
Relief corps rises to the occasion when season hangs in balance
The bullpen, often the Yankees’ weak point, responded when it mattered. At the trade deadline, New York added three relievers, but only David Bednar has met expectations. On Saturday, others stepped up.
Luke Weaver entered in the sixth with two on and one out after Fried exited. He fell behind 3-1 to Ceddanne Rafaela but came back to strike him out on a changeup in the dirt. The Yankees star then overpowered Romy Gonzalez with a 96-mph fastball for another strikeout, preserving the lead.
“That’s a playoff atmosphere right there,” Weaver said. “That’s a huge matchup, huge game, a lot on the line.”
Devin Williams handled the seventh and worked around Boston’s toughest hitters to post another clean frame. He has now delivered back-to-back scoreless outings.
Fernando Cruz faced trouble in the eighth when Jarren Duran, pinch-hitting, homered for the second straight night to make it 4-3. It was also the second straight game Cruz allowed a long ball. The Yankees reliever recovered quickly, striking out the next two hitters to prevent further damage.
Insurance run provides breathing room for dramatic finish
The Yankees added a key run in the ninth against former teammate Aroldis Chapman. Aaron Judge singled with two outs, advanced on a wild pitch, and set up Cody Bellinger.
Bellinger worked a nine-pitch at-bat after falling behind 0-2. He fouled off pitches and finally smashed an RBI double off the Green Monster to restore a two-run cushion.
“He did what he did the whole entire year, which is put together a good at-bat and hit a ball off the Monster in a big spot for us,” Fried said.
Bednar closed it out in style for the Yankees. He threw only seven pitches in the ninth for his 24th save of the year and his seventh since joining New York.
Playoff implications grow more significant with each victory
The Yankees improved to 83-65 and moved 2½ games ahead of Boston (81-68) for the American League’s top wild card. That position would give New York home-field advantage if the two clubs meet in the opening playoff round.
“It’s been big,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of the bullpen’s improvement. “Obviously, we talk about the hiccups a lot, but again, through this month or whatever now it’s been, we’ve had a lot of this, too, where guys have performed, have closed out games.”
The win gave the Yankees their first series victory against the Red Sox this season after losing eight of the first 10 meetings. They have gone 21-9 over their last 30 games and remain three games behind the AL East-leading Blue Jays.
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