BOSTON — Zack Kelly screamed and pounded his chest as he returned to the Red Sox dugout after escaping a huge jam in the seventh inning.
Manager Alex Cora brought in Kelly with no outs, the bases loaded and Boston clinging to a 4-3 lead against the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball.
The 29-year-old righty struck out Gleyber Torres swinging on an 83.6 mph sweeper (battling back after being down 3-0 in the count) and Jose Trevino swinging on an 83.8 mph sweeper. Kelly then used a 91.8 mph cutter to get DJ LeMahieu to line out to center field.
The Red Sox added three runs in the bottom of the seventh and won 9-3 over the Yankees at Fenway Park.
The running Red Sox set a franchise single-game record with nine stolen bases.
Boston won the three-game series against its biggest rival, 2-1. It went 4-2 against the Phillies and Yankees, MLB’s two top teams, on its six-game homestand.
Alex Verdugo and Giancarlo Stanton singled off Brennan Bernardino to begin the seventh. The Yankees loaded the bases on first baseman Dom Smith’s error.
But Kelly escaped using 13 pitches (eight strikes).
Rafael Devers’ RBI single and Connor Wong’s two-run triple in the bottom of the seventh made it 7-3 Boston. Boston added two more runs in the eighth.
Red Sox set franchise single-game record
The Red Sox set a franchise single-game record with nine stolen bases. David Hamilton stole four bases and Jarren Duran stole two bases. Dom Smith, Ceddanne Rafaela and Bobby Dalbec each had one steal.
Red Sox use speed against Stroman
Hitters on the Red Sox’ active roster entered Sunday just 6-for-42 (.143 batting average) with two extra-base hits, four walks and nine strikeouts against Yankees starter Marcus Stroman.
But Boston used its speed to get to Stroman who lasted 5 innings and allowed four runs, seven hits and four walks while striking out three.
The Red Sox stole six bases against catcher Jose Trevino during Stroman’s 5 innings.
Hamilton had three of those six steals with Stroman on the mound. His speed manufactured runs in both the third and fourth innings.
The Red Sox took a 2-1 lead in the second inning. With two outs, Enmanuel Valdez walked and Smith singled to put runners at the corners. Smith then stole second base. He and Valdez scored on Rafaela’s two-run single to center field.
Boston went ahead 3-1 in the third inning after Hamilton walked to begin the inning. The speedster stole second and advanced to third base with no outs on Rob Refsnyder’s single. He scored when Devers grounded into a double play.
The Sox took a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning. Hamilton singled to begin the inning and stole both second and third. He scored on Devers’ RBI sac fly to center field.
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Kutter Crawford leaves with lead
Hitters on the Yankees’ active roster entered Sunday only 6-for-46 (.130) with two extra-base hits, five walks and 14 strikeouts against Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford.
Crawford left with a 4-3 lead. He pitched 6 innings and allowed three runs, three hits (two homers) and one walk while striking out nine.
The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Aaron Judge blasted a 380-foot homer off Crawford. It left Judge’s bat at 114.2 mph.
The Yankees cut their deficit to 4-3 in the sixth inning when Trevino homered and Anthony Volpe, who singled, scored on a wild pitch.
