Red Sox shut out Yankees

Rick Porcello #22 of the Boston Red Sox throws against the New York Yankees in the first inning at Fenway Park on April 30, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts.

(April 30, 2016 - Source: Jim Rogash/Getty Images North America)

The Boston Red Sox shut out the New York Yankees as they beat their division rival 8-0 in game two of their three-game series.

Boston’s SP Rick Porcello pitched seven tremendous innings, allowing 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6. His ERA fell to 2.76 and his WHIP to 0.92. He got the win in each of the five starts in April.

The Red Sox started their scoring spree in the bottom of the second inning. C Christian Vazquez hit a two-out single and advanced to third base on a double by CF Jackie Bradley Jr. RF Mookie Betts followed with another double, driving Vazquez and Bradley Jr. home.

In the sixth inning Boston doubled their lead. RP Chasen Shreve came into the game for SP Michael Pineda. He walked LF Brock Holt and gave up a two-out triple to Jackie Bradley Jr. for Boston’s third run of the game.

The Yankees made another pitching change, bringing in RP Kirby Yates. Mookie Betts reached first base on an infield single and Jackie Bradley Jr. came home to put the score up to 4-0.

Michael Pineda (1-3) pitched five innings, giving up 5 hits, 3 walks and 2 earned runs while striking out 3. He has a 6.33 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP after five starts.

The Red Sox doubled their lead again in the seventh inning. DH David Ortiz’ leadoff home run off RP Johnny Barbato seemed to inspire the offense to add more runs to their tally. 1B Hanley Ramirez, who wasn’t happy with tonight’s wide strike zone, followed with a walk. He advanced to third base on a single by 3B Travis Shaw. Brock Holt reached first base on a fielding error by 2B Starlin Castro, which enabled Hanley Ramirez to cross home plate for a 6-0 lead.

The Yankees were compelled to make another pitching change and brought in RP Nick Goody. He immediately surrendered a triple to Jackie Bradley Jr. and Boston scored two more runs by Travis Shaw and Brock Holt.

Jackie Bradley’s triple in the seventh inning was his second triple of the game and his fourth of the season. He finished the game with 3 hits in 3 at-bats, 2 runs, 3 RBI and a walk. He is batting .272 on the season and has 11 runs, 1 HR and 13 RBI.

The Boston Red Sox (14-10) closed the gap to division leader Baltimore to 0.5 games. The New York Yankees (8-14) remain at the bottom of the AL East, trailing the Orioles by 5.5 games.