Brett Gardner's 2-run triple sparks 8th-inning Yankees rally in win over Red Sox

by Felix Pantaleon

Brett Gardner hit a go-ahead, two-run triple to spark a four-run, eighth-inning rally for the Yankees in a win over the Boston Red Sox.

NEW YORK — After getting blunt about his own poor play prior to Wednesday’s game, Brett Gardner turned things around in a big way.

Gardner’s two-run triple gave the Yankees a one-run, eighth-inning lead, capping off a 3-for-5 night for the Yankee left fielder where he also had two doubles and scored three runs.

Aaron Judge followed Gardner’s triple with a blistering two-run home run into Monument Park in center field to help the Yankees grab their eighth straight victory with a 9-6 win over the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

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Gardner’s go-ahead triple came with one out off Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel, who entered the game to face the left fielder with runners on the corners.

After fouling off a 97 mph fastball with a full count, Gardner launched the next pitch to the left-center field wall. Neil Walker scored easily from third, and Gleyber Torres raced home from first, just beating the relay to the plate.

The Yankees’ eighth-inning rally bailed out the bullpen, which surrendered a one-run lead in the seventh.

Reliever Chad Green served up a two-out, two-run home run to Red Sox designated hitter Hanley Ramirez, who demolished a 1-1 slider into the second deck in left field for a 5-4 Red Sox advantage.

Giuliani watches Yanks-Sox (PHOTOS)

The bullpen did wiggle out of a jam in the top of the eighth inning to keep the deficit at one run prior to Gardner’s triple. After lefty Chasen Shreve gave up a walk and a double to give the Red Sox second and third with no outs, Shreve struck out third baseman Rafael Devers. Righty Jonathan Holder then struck out catcher Christian Vazquez before getting left fielder Andrew Benintendi to ground out to second.

The Yankees led early when they went up 1-0 on Rick Porcello’s fourth pitch. The Red Sox starter allowed a leadoff double to Gardner before Judge singled to center to score him.

But the home-run bug also bit Yankee starter Masahiro Tanaka, who gave up a two-run shot to Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland for a 2-1 lead in the second inning. Tanaka also served up a solo home run to Benintendi in top of the fifth inning.

The Yankees did strike for three runs in the third inning to reclaim the lead. Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton roped a two-run double to the right field wall, scoring Gardner and Judge. Aaron Hicks drove Stanton home with a sacrifice fly.

After Benintendi’s blast pulled the Red Sox within 4-3, Yankee catcher Gary Sanchez drove in Judge with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth. Boston answered with a Eduardo Nunez sac fly in the sixth to cut the New York lead to 5-4.

What it means

One night after the Yankees pulled even atop the AL East standings with the Red Sox, they grabbed sole possession of first place at 26-10, which is also the best record in MLB. The Red Sox, which at one point led the Yankees by 7.5 games, sit one game behind at 25-11.

The Yankees extended their home winning streak 11 games, and they have now won 17 of their past 18 games overall.

Not satisfied by historic stretch

The 17-1 mark over their past 18 games matches the Yankees’ best 18-game run since 1953, when they put together a 21-1 stretch.

Despite the results, manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees still need to be driven to be better.

“You better be. There’s always room for improvement with our club or with our process, trying to be as efficient as we can, trying to tighten up game plans, all those type of things, making sure our staff, our guys are all in a great frame of mind,” Boone said before Wednesday’s game. “Yeah, absolutely. That’s the urgency in the day I talk about all the time. We want to make sure we’re buttoned up and prepared as well as we can be each and everyday. And personally I feel like there’s a long way to go in that regard.”

Price diagnosed with carpal tunnel

Red Sox pitcher David Price, who was originally slated to start Wednesday, was diagnosed with a minor case of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Price felt numbness in his left hand during a bullpen session on Sunday and was sent back to Boston on Tuesday.

He will rejoin the Red Sox on Thursday, and he could return to the rotation for his next start as early as Saturday. Red Sox Manager Alex Cora called the diagnosis good news after Price went through a battery of tests.

Next up

Thursday: Red Sox vs. Yankees – LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-0, 5.29) vs. LHP CC Sabathia (2-0, 1.39). 7:05 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.

Friday: Oakland Athletics vs. Yankees – TBA vs. RHP Sonny Gray (2-2, 6.00). 7:05 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.

Saturday: Athletics vs. Yankees – RHP Andrew Triggs (3-1, 4.41) vs. RHP Domingo German (0-1, 2.66). 1:05 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.

Sunday: Athletics vs. Yankees – LHP Brett Anderson (0-1, 8.68) vs. RHP Luis Severino (5-1, 2.21). 1:05 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.

Chris Ryan may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.