Yankees smack Red Sox, Aaron Hicks hits 3 homers | Rapid reaction

Aaron Hicks crushed three home runs, Luis Severino dominates as Yankees crush Red Sox, 11-1, at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night.

NEW YORK — The Yankees want to avoid the Wild Card like the guy with the hacking cough in the subway car.

A fireworks show a few days before the Fourth of July was a crucial step toward liberating themselves from it.

The Yankees smashed six home runs in in a 11-1 beatdown of the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night, tying them with Boston atop the American League East.

Aaron Hicks drubbed three of them — and did it from both sides of the plate. Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres and Kyle Higashioka — the first hit of his career, by the way — each clobbered one.

Hicks’ was the Yankees’ first three-homer game since Alex Rodriguez on July 25, 2015, at Minnesota. He became the third Yankee to hit three homers in a game vs. the Red Sox, the others: Mark Teixeira and Lou Gehrig. It was Hicks’ second time homering from both batters boxes in a game.

They smacked around longtime nemesis David Price, who got maybe the loudest cheers of the night — Bronx cheers, of course — as he walked slowly off the field after three-plus terrible innings.

And they supported ace Luis Severino, who really didn’t need all the help.

Severino’s Cy Young charge continued as the 24-year-old dominated the Red Sox’s typically fearsome lineup.

A day after fellow ace Chris Sale shut out the Yankees, Severino went 6 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking three while giving up just two hits. He threw 99 pitches. David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman held their rivals down the rest of the way. Chapman gave up a ninth-inning run.

It was Severino’s second straight scoreless start. He blanked the Phillies over seven innings June 26. It was Severino’s fifth scoreless outing in 18 starts and his ERA dropped to 1.98 — the second best in the majors and tops in the AL.

What it means

The victory brought the Yankees (54-27) and Red Sox (56-29) back to a deadlock in the standings.

Since May 7, the division lead has changed hands 10 times. The Yankees trailed Boston by a season-high 7 1/2 games at the start of play on April 21 — the Red Sox were 17-2 and the Yankees were 9-9. Since then, the Yankees are 45-18 and Boston is 39-27.

The Yankees also improved 18-3-2 over their last 22 series. They’re a big-league best 38-4 when scoring first.

Over easy

The Red Sox hung four first-inning runs on Sonny Gray in Saturday’s 11-0 loss.

The Yankees returned the favor, getting a solo shot to center field from Aaron Judge in their second at-bat. After Giancarlo Stanton ripped a single adn Didi Gregorius doubled, it was Gleyber Torres’ turn. Torres launched a three-run blast to right-center field, giving the Yankees a 4-zip advantage.

It felt over. It was.

Hicks, a switch-hitter, followed up Brett Gardner’s hit with a bomb to right-center field to make it 6-0 Yankees. There was more.

Kyle Higashioka, who went 0-for-18 in his big-league debut last year, was hitless in his first four at-bats since getting called up last week. He had struck out looking against Price in the second inning.

But Higashioka worked Price to a 1-2 count. When Price hung a 89-mph cutter, Higashioka pummeled it into the left-field second deck. The 28-year-old rounded the bases slowly, smiling. 

The dugout exploded when the ball went over the wall. But Higashioka’s teammates gave him the silent treatment his first few moments back in the dugout before nearly pummeling him in celebration. Higashioka also hit one to the warning track in the seventh inning.

Then, with one out, Aaron Hicks rocked a solo homer — this one to center field — to put the Yankees ahead, 8-nothing. It meant Hicks’ second multi-homer game of the season and the fifth of his career.

Didi Gregorius’ sacrifice fly brought Judge home from third base for the 9-run lead.

In the eighth, Hicks hit a leadoff blast to the left-field second deck off reliever Hector Velazquez, who had nearly hit him in the right shin with a fastball, knocking him down, with the at-bat’s first pitch.

You should know

The Yankees and Red Sox will face each other another nine times this season. Six games will be in Boston. Their next series starts Aug. 2 at Fenway Park.

Giancarlo Stanton went 2-for-4, doubling in the fourth. 

Neil Walker pinch hit for Didi Gregorius in the sixth, with Torres moving to shortstop and Walker taking over at second base.

Brandon Drury pinch hit for Stanton in the ninth and roped a single to left. Walker singled home Judge in the inning.

Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers drove in Sandy Leon with a force out to break the shutout.

NEXT 

Monday: Yankees righty Jonathan Loaisiga (2-0, 1.93 ERA) vs. Braves righty Anibal Sanchez (3-2, 2.68 ERA), 7:05 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.