Red Sox Notes: Boston Turns In Defining Victory In Rivalry Opener

The Boston Red Sox had struggled in series openers throughout the season and looked to be on the verge of dropping the first game of a three-game set against the New York Yankees.

That’s what happened in the first meeting before the Red Sox took the series at Fenway Park in June.

In the blink of an eye, Boston turned a low-energy loss into arguably the win of the year against the Yankees in a 5-3 victory.

“Super pumped for them,” Tanner Houck told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It goes back to the boys battling in the ninth inning.”

Houck echoed the praise for hard-nosed at-bats in the ninth inning from Rafael Devers and Dominic Smith. That set the scene for the game-changing swing from Masataka Yoshida’s two-run blast to keep the Red Sox alive with his first homer since April 20.

“It’s huge obviously to be able to hit a home run in that clutch situation,” Yoshida told reporters through a team translator, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Just to share the happiness with the teammates. … Situation-wise in this stadium, here at Yankee Stadium, I think that’s one of the highlights of my career with the Red Sox.”

Ceddanne Rafaela’s own two-run homer gave Boston the lead while Kenley Jansen secured the advantage for good.

Friday’s matchup featured the engaging twists and turns that once defined the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry: a 38-minute rain delay, late-inning lead changes and extra baseball to extend the game with an ultimately rewarding victory for one team. On Friday night, the Red Sox got the job done.

“It’s always special to come here and win games,” Alex Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We know where we’re at in the standings. Like I said last week, let’s not settle. Let’s keep pushing and see where it takes us.”

Here are more notes from Friday’s Red Sox-Yankees game:

— Houck recorded his shortest start of the season with just 3 1/3 innings.

— Romy Gonzalez hit his first Red Sox home run and just the sixth homer of his MLB career.

— Boston now trails the Yankees by just 4 1/2 games for the top American League wild card spot.

— The Red Sox went to extra innings for the second-straight day and move to 4-1 in extra-inning games on the road.

— Kenley Jansen tied Francisco Rodriguez for the fifth-most saves in baseball history with 437 after Friday’s win.

— Boston holds MLB’s longest active win streak with five consecutive victories.

— The Red Sox and Yankees continue the series on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.