Kiké comes through as Red Sox take series in Bronx

NEW YORK -- The Red Sox did something they haven’t done since May 27 against the D-backs. Boston won a series, and it was against the Yankees in a 3-2 victory in 10 innings Sunday night at Yankee Stadium.

The game was tied at 2 when Kiké Hernández singled to left field off Ron Marinaccio, driving in automatic runner Adam Duvall. It was Boston’s first hit with runners in scoring position during the game.

“I felt really good to come through for the team,” Hernández said. “It was a big series for us. … We were in all three games. We pitched well, we played good defense. We ran the bases well. We did the little things. We did it all tonight.”

Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello received a no-decision in Sunday’s game, but he was the highlight of the game for Boston. He pitched a season-high seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out three.

“He was amazing,” manager Alex Cora said about Bello. “... He was throwing strikes, using his changeup against righties. That was good to see.”

What was impressive was that Bello was dealing in front of a sellout crowd of 46,138.

“It was an exciting opportunity to be out there and pitch on a Sunday night,” Bello said through interpreter Carlos Villoria-Benitez. “I had that opportunity last year as well. I was very excited to be out there today.”

If it weren’t for the second inning, Bello would have had seven shutout innings. The ball didn’t bounce his way that inning.

The Yankees had runners on second and third with two outs. Jose Trevino hit what looked to be a routine ground ball, but the ball hit the second-base bag and bounced past Hernández for a hit, scoring two runs to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

“I felt like saying, ‘Let’s go home,’” Cora admitted.

But Bello didn’t panic. He held New York scoreless for the next five innings.

“I thank God I kept my focus,” Bello said. “It could have been a groundout to get out of the inning. I did my work and I executed my pitch. I was glad I was able to keep my focus through that situation.”

Hernández was not surprised that Bello kept his focus and had a quality outing.

“This is who we believe [Bello] is,” Hernández said. “This is a kid who came into the league with all the hype in the world and struggled a little bit. It seemed like he got better with each start.

“This year, he really didn’t get a Spring Training. He had to basically go through Spring Training during the regular season, The first couple of outings were not what he wanted. He was sent down for a little bit. He came back up with a great attitude. Same story as last year; he takes the mound. He seems like he gets better. I think he is mature beyond his years.”

During the three-game series, Bello, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock gave Boston a combined 19 1/3 innings, allowing six runs (five earned) and striking out 15. Cora likes the way his rotation is shaping up for the rest of the season with the young kids.

“From my end, to come here with those three kids and pitch the way they did, hopefully we could build off of this. That was really good from Whit, Tanner and Bello. That was impressive,” Cora said. “Obviously, we need to pitch. The offense is going to be OK. It’s just a matter of time. … I’m impressed with the way [the team] went about it during the three days. That was fun to watch in this scenario against a good team. They grew up the last three days.”

With the victory, the Red Sox found themselves back at .500 with a 33-33 record.

“We won the series,” Cora said. “We came to Yankee Stadium and we took two out of three. Now we just have to go home and keep going.”