Red Sox power past Yankees in opener of crucial series

NEW YORK -- When the Red Sox hammered a barrage of runs and hits through the first two innings at Yankee Stadium on Friday night, they were finally able to breathe a little.

During a tense August, with the team trying to stay in the mix for the third American League Wild Card spot, lopsided wins have been invisible.

For one night at least, that changed, as the Sox started rivalry weekend auspiciously.

Backed by that early onslaught by the offense and the latest sterling effort against the Yankees by righty Brayan Bello, Boston rolled to an 8-3 victory over struggling New York.

“I felt a little bit relaxed obviously with that lead,” said Bello through an interpreter. “It was really good, so my mindset changed completely just to try to attack batters and try to get out of the innings as quickly as I could so I could get the guys back to hit.”

Through those first two innings, as the Sox built a 7-0 lead, the quartet at the top of the order (Alex Verdugo, Rafael Devers, Justin Turner and Masataka Yoshida) went 8-for-8 with six runs and seven RBIs.

“We’re a good offensive team,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “We believe that. It just hasn’t happened [much in August]. But if you look at the guys in that lineup, hopefully it's a time everybody clicks at the same time and we can go on a run.”

The Red Sox now trail the Mariners by three games for the third AL Wild Card spot. The Jays are a half-game behind Seattle and 2 1/2 in front of Boston.

With head-to-head record determining tiebreakers in the standings, the Red Sox do have the edge on the Jays, having already clinched the season series. Boston and Seattle finished 3-3. In a two-way tie between those clubs, the next tiebreaker is intradivision record. At this point, the Mariners hold that edge.

If the Sox, Jays and Mariners finish in a three-way tie, then the team with the best combined winning percentage against the two other clubs would get that final Wild Card spot. Boston has already clinched that tiebreaker.

Verdugo, who is starting to warm up again, set the tone by opening the game with a double. Devers and Turner followed with singles. The big blow against Yankees starter Jhony Brito was a three-run homer by Yoshida in the top of the first, as the Sox opened the game with four straight hits.

“We like those plays,” said Cora. “The three-run homers, those are cool.”

In this case, it was especially cool for Yoshida, who belted his first Yankee Stadium homer after going 0-for-11 in his first career trip to the Bronx in June.

“Yeah, I was really happy to hit in that great situation,” said Yoshida through an interpreter. “I'm really honored to play at this stadium. I knew [of] this stadium when I was growing up.”

With a big cushion throughout his performance, Bello (9-7, 3.70 ERA) didn’t lose any concentration. Instead, he locked in for his sharpest start in weeks, scattering six hits and a run while walking one and striking out four over six innings and 98 pitches.

For those who were worried about Bello hitting a wall during the latter stages of his first full season, the righty seemed to get through that wall on Friday. Bello’s sinker was in top form and his changeup kept the Yankees off balance.

“Today, he did a good job pounding the strike zone after we got the lead, and he gave us six strong innings to put us in a good spot,” said Cora.

In five career starts against the Bronx Bombers, Bello owns a 1.45 ERA.

“I feel really comfortable with that mound,” Bello said. “That mound is really nice, although the ballpark is small in a couple places, so I don't want anybody to hit it that way.”

Verdugo is another player who always seems to thrive whenever he’s in the Bronx, and he went 3-for-5 with three runs and a pair of doubles. Back in the leadoff spot of late, where he spent the first couple of months of the season, Verdugo appears to be back in the groove.

“I mean, obviously you get the first taste of the game and you get an opportunity to do something,” Verdugo said. “So any time you can get it started good is a good thing.”

Now 8-8 in August, the 64-58 Red Sox are hoping a rejuvenated offense can lead to a hot finish to the month.

“From top to bottom, we're really good offensively,” said Cora. “It's just kind of like we have to get it [going] together, and hopefully this is the beginning of something great.”