Red Sox beat Yankees 5-1 to end the series

The Red Sox avoided the sweep thanks to a stellar performance from Steven Wright.

David Price got shelled last night and an umpire cost the Red Sox the first game of the second series against the Yankees. With another Sunday Night Baseball telecast scheduled for today, Steven Wright delivered what was the best game of his career so far, allowing only one run on three hits and nine innings of work.

The sole Yankees’ run came off as a home run from Brett Gardner in the ninth inning, but the knuckleballer was nothing more than stellar throughout the game.

The Red Sox kept up with their trend of giving the starters and early lead when Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run blast to right-field in the first inning. Yankees’ starter Luis Severino quickly settled down after Pedroia’s home run, by retiring eight in a row, six by strikeout.

Wright was dealing against New York, allowing only one hit in four innings of work, when David Ortiz homered for the second time in the series. It was Ortiz’ 453rd home run in a Red Sox uniform, which passed Carl Yastrzemski for second on the team’s all-time list.

Ortiz homered for the second time in the game in the sixth inning to give the Red Sox a 4-0 lead. The Yankees threatened to score in the bottom half of the seventh when Starlin Castro hit a double to right field and advanced to third base after a flyout from Brian McCann. Castro was out after a weird attempt to steal home.

The Red Sox extended their lead 5-0 thanks to Xander Bogaerts‘ second home run o the season in the 8th inning and with only 86 pitches, Wright came out in the 9th to complete the game.

The knuckleballer gave up a solo shot to Gardner that didn’t allow him to finish the game with a shutout, but he lowered his ERA to 1.52 which now ranks third in the American League.

Game notes:

• Jackie Bradley Jr now has a 14-game hitting streak with a .288 batting average.
• The Red Sox are half-game behind first place and they’re facing the Oakland A’s to start the week.
• Hanley Ramirez was hit in the wrist in the ninth inning, but it doesn’t seem he’s going to miss time.
• Ortiz is now second in RBI (27) in the American League, behind Robinson Cano (33)

Wright pitched the first complete game of the rotation. At this point of the season, he has surpassed every expectation fans and media had of him, maybe even the team. His spot in the rotation seemed like a lock after his last few starts, but after tonight’s game there’s no way the Red Sox pull him out when Joe Kelly or Eduardo Rodriguez come back.

The offense was sparked early thanks to a homer from Pedroia and it seemed that Severino calmed them down, but Ortiz followed through with a shot to right field. It is always a great offensive night when you manage to put five runs on the board.