Yankees vs Red Sox turned Thursday night in Boston, where the Red Sox beat the Yankees 6-3 and did it with six unearned runs. The win ended a seven-game losing streak against AL East opponents and snapped a four-game home losing streak.
Durbin’s fifth-inning homer
Caleb Durbin went 2-for-3 and hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning one day after dislocating his left pinkie finger. He said, “It was like it didn’t even happen [Wednesday]” and, “I don’t know how it works, but thankful it felt better today.”
That line carried extra weight because he had left the 8-6 loss to Colorado on Wednesday with the injury after diving into first base. Instead of sitting out, he returned against the Yankees and gave the Red Sox production in the middle of a game built more on mistakes than clean offense.
Six runs without six hits
The Red Sox scored six unearned runs in the series opener, which means the damage came from missed chances and defensive breakdowns rather than only from routine run production. That is the part that changes the read on the result: the score shows a convincing win, but the path to 6-3 was not a simple hitting performance.
The Red Sox also have homered in 11 of their last 13 games and have 19 home runs since June 10, so the lineup has still been supplying power around the edges of a messy night. Durbin has five home runs in his last 13 games and has hit safely in 17 of his last 24 games, leaving him at.329 with 14 extra base hits, 16 RBI, and a.976 OPS over that span.
Payton Tolle vs. Will Warren
Friday night brings Payton Tolle against Will Warren at Fenway Park, with the Red Sox giving Tolle another look against a Yankees starter who has struggled in this matchup. Tolle’s only start against the Yankees came on April 23, when he allowed one run on three hits and struck out 11 in six innings.
Warren enters at 7-2 with a 3.45 ERA, while Tolle is 3-5 with a 3.08 ERA. Warren is 1-2 with a 9.42 ERA in three career starts against the Red Sox, and Tolle already has one strong game against him on the record.
The lineup sheet also shows where both clubs are leaning. The Yankees listed Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, Cody Bellinger, José Caballero, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Anthony Volpe, Trent Jones, and Austin Wells, while the Red Sox countered with Nick Gasper, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Abraham Contreras, Jarren Duran, Durbin, Vaughn Seigler, Connor Wong, and Marcelo Cheng.
For the Red Sox, the cleanest takeaway is simple: they got the opener, ended two losing streaks, and now turn to Tolle with a chance to press the edge they created Thursday night.
