It took most of a rainy night at Fenway Park for the Red Sox to find their offense. It took one wild inning by reliever Brooks Kriske for the Yankees to squander an opportunity to gain valuable ground on their longtime rivals. Kiké Hernández hit a two-run double that tied the game with two outs in the ninth inning, and Boston took advantage of a record four wild pitches by Kriske in the 10th to rally past New York 5-4 on Thursday.
“That’s why you play until the last out is made,” Hernández said. “Pitchers did a good job of keeping us in the game.” Xander Bogaerts scored on a sacrifice fly by Hunter Renfroe in the 10th to win the opener of a four-game series. The victory was Boston’s third straight and snapped New York’s four-game winning streak.
Boston also remained one game up on Tampa Bay in the AL East. The third-place Yankees, who have lost eight of 10 to the Red Sox this season, are eight games back. Matt Barnes (5-2), the sixth Red Sox pitcher of the night, gave up a run in the 10th but got the win. Kriske (1-1) allowed Boston’s final two runs for a blown save, becoming the first major leaguer to throw four wild pitches in a single extra inning, according to STATS.