Gleyber comes up clutch on offense and with some valuable advice

BOSTON -- The strike zone was dancing on Clay Holmes in the ninth inning on Tuesday afternoon, with the closer having issued three consecutive walks to load the bases. Gleyber Torres trotted to the mound from his position at second base, relaying an important message: “Use your defense.”

Holmes heard Torres, took a deep breath, and did just that. The sinkerballer induced Alex Verdugo to chop a grounder that Torres fielded, starting a nifty double play that secured a 3-2 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.

“I don’t know anything about pitching, but I just try to refresh how good he is,” Torres said. “I just try to get him to believe. 'You’ve got a really good defense. You don’t have to strike out everybody.' I think he did a really good job.”

Holmes picked up his 19th save, preserving a lead created by Torres’ go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning.

“That’s the one thing about Clay: Even when he struggles a little bit with command and loses a couple of guys, he’s always one pitch away,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Today wasn’t a perfect day for him by any means, but he made the right pitch at the right time.”

Torres’ hit followed DJ LeMahieu’s run-scoring double earlier in the sixth off Boston starter Nick Pivetta, who had struck out 10 through the first five innings before the Yanks broke through.

“He was having his way with us. He was beating us down a little bit there,” Boone said. “Then we were able to string some at-bats together. We didn’t do a ton offensively, but we were able to string together a big inning there.”

New York snapped a streak of seven consecutive losses to the Red Sox, who have won eight of their 10 meetings thus far in 2023.

“The end of the season is about having the discipline to go out there and still be at your sharpest and put your best foot forward,” said catcher Kyle Higashioka, who stroked three singles in the win. “At this point we’ve got to show some character and finish strong, no matter what the circumstances are.”

Jhony Brito picked up the victory in relief, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings after starter Randy Vásquez permitted two runs over 3 2/3 innings. Rafael Devers hit a fourth-inning homer off Vásquez, who also allowed a run to score on a wild pitch.

“It’s very important to get an opportunity like this, to open games and be a starter,” Vásquez said through an interpreter. “It means a lot. It’s also an opportunity for me to gain the trust of the team, not just this year, but looking forward to next year and putting my name on the map. I’m working and doing everything I can to get their trust.”

The Yankees and Red Sox are scheduled to play the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader at 7:10 p.m. ET. Carlos Rodón will start for New York opposite Boston’s Kutter Crawford.