Humiliated during the first three games of their series with the Red Sox, the Yankees salvaged a sliver of dignity in Sunday night’s series finale.
The Yankees battered Boston pitching for four home runs — two apiece by Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm Jr. — and got a solid start from Carlos Rodon and 3 1⁄3 scoreless innings from their relievers as they beat the Red Sox, 7-2, before 44,640 at the Stadium.
The Red Sox had won eight straight games between the teams and lead the season series 8-2 with three games remaining at Fenway Park.
“Not the weekend we wanted, certainly, but excellent to get a win,” manager Aaron Boone said.
About the only Yankee who did not leave the Stadium with some dignity restored was shortstop Anthony Volpe, who was replaced by Jose Caballero in the starting lineup and clearly was disappointed about it.
Volpe, who did come in late as a defensive replacement when Caballero shifted to rightfield to replace Giancarlo Stanton, said he likely will start again on Tuesday.
Volpe had a .121/.171/.242 slash line in his last 19 games, was in a 1-for-28 slump and had defensive miscues in the previous two games. He threw to the wrong base Friday, giving Boston an extra out, and committed his AL-high 17th error on Saturday.
“ . . . I was pretty raw,” Volpe said after the win. “As a competitor, and as someone that takes pride and wants to be out there every day, you just take it on the chin [and] you look for the positives. I think if I do what I got to do, it’ll be what it is.”
The Yankees (70-60) moved within 5 1⁄2 games of AL East leader Toronto (76-55) and hold the second wild card, a half-game behind Boston (71-60) and a half-game ahead of Seattle (70-61).
Chisholm, who hit two-run blasts in the second and eighth innings, tied his career high with 24 home runs and has three multi-homer games this season. His first homer was the 100th of his career.
“When everything’s going well, that’s how I think we are,” he said. “We hit home runs, we score a lot, we walk a lot. I feel like that our game.”
Grisham, who hit 406- and 413-foot solo shots in the third and fifth innings, has 25 home runs and four multi-homer games this season. His previous career high was 17.
“[Grisham] controlled the zone,” Boone said. “He gets a walk to open things up and then hit a homer on a fastball, then a homer on a changeup. That just kind of embodies the good at-bats he’s been having all season.”
Stanton doubled, singled and scored two runs, and Caballero contributed a sacrifice fly.
Rodon left the game with a 5-0 lead, two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth, and Luke Weaver allowed two inherited runners to score on pinch hitter Nathaniel Lowe’s bloop single to right-center. Weaver, Devin Williams and Camilo Doval held Boston scoreless the rest of the way, striking out seven in 3 1⁄3 innings.
Doval, who has struggled since being acquired from the Giants before the July 31 MLB trade deadline, allowed a leadoff single by Lowe and a one-out double by Ceddanne Rafaela in the ninth but struck out Carlos Narvaez and got Masataka Yoshida to ground out.
Rodon (14-7, 3.24 ERA) finished with a solid final line. He was charged with two runs and allowed only one hit in 5 2⁄3 innings but walked five, including three in the sixth.
The end of Rodon’s 103-pitch effort was unsightly. After he sailed through the first five innings on 66 pitches, the Red Sox battled him for walks in three long at-bats in the sixth. Romy Gonzalez drew an 11-pitch pass with one out, Alex Bregman followed with an eight-pitch walk and Trevor Story drew a two-out, nine-pitch pass.
According to statistician Katie Sharp, the 24 walks in 38 2⁄3 innings that Rodon has allowed since the All-Star break are an MLB high (he has allowed only 25 hits in that span).
Rodon had thrown 37 pitches in the sixth when he was removed with the bases loaded, and he shared his displeasure at how the strike zone was called by plate umpire Charlie Ramos. After allowing Lowe’s two-run single, Weaver struck out Jarren Duran to end the inning.
Notes & quotes: Reliever Fernando Cruz, out since late June with an oblique strain, is likely to come off the injured list on Monday when the Yankees open a series against the Nationals. Cruz has appeared in 32 games this season and has a 3.00 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 33 innings . . . Third baseman Ryan McMahon made two outstanding fielding plays to start a pair of 5-4-3 double plays.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
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