BOMBS AWAY!
Hicks’ 3 blasts lead 6-homer barrage as Yanks belt Bosox
Halfway through the season there are two landscapes that aren’t likely to change from early July to late September:
Luis Severino’s name will be front and center in the AL Cy Young race and the Red Sox and the Yankees will be in close contact of each other until the regular season runs out of track.
One night after the Yankees were shackled by Chris Sale at the same time the Red Sox pummeled Sonny Gray, the Yankees turned to their ace and asked him to pitch like one.
Backed by six homers — three from Aaron Hicks — Severino pitched into the seventh inning without allowing a run as the Yankees trampled the Red Sox, 11-1, in front of 46,795 at a sweltering Yankee Stadium where the first-pitch temperature was 91 degrees.
“He is our ace and one of the best pitchers in the game. I love handing him the ball,’’ Aaron Boone said of Severino, who gave up two hits, walked three and struck out six in 6 2/3 innings. He is 13-2, having won four straight and six of seven while lowering the best ERA in the AL to 1.98. “He set the tone tonight, went deep in the game and was on top of his game.’’
So was Hicks, the switchhitting center fielder who homered twice from the right side off David Price, once from the left side and was greeted with the silent treatment from teammates in the dugout after his third homer. Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres homered off Price in the first inning and Kyle Higashioka’s first big- league hit was a homer off Price that reached the second deck in left.
“We have a great offense but today it was amazing,’’ Severino said of the lineup that produced a season-high in homers. It was the Yankees’ second six-homer game since the start of 2008. The other six-homer game in that stretch came against Boston on Sept. 24, 2010.
The 54-27 Yankees’ second victory in three games enabled the Yankees to move eight percentage points ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East race that shows no signs of either team making a move away from the other.
After watching the Red Sox punish Gray for six runs and seven hits in 2 ¹/3 innings in an 11-0 romp Saturday night, the Yankees attacked Price early. Four runs in the first inning that was highlighted by Torres’ three run homer and two in the second when Hicks drove a two-run home to right center sucked whatever energy the heat didn’t out of the Red Sox.
After Price gave up a homer to Higashioka to start the fourth and two batters later to Hicks, Price van- ished having given up eight runs and nine hits (five homers) in 3 ¹/3 innings. In two games against the Yankees this year the left-hander is 0-2 with a 27.02 ERA.
The only taste of trouble Severino experienced surfaced in the third with two outs and the Red Sox trailing 6-0. A walk to Mookie Betts was followed by Andrew Benintendi’s single to left. With J.D. Martinez at the plate, Benintendi stole second. Severino fell behind the DH, 2-0, got the count full and fanned him on a changeup.
“I thought it was the best spot to throw it, it was the key to the game,’’ Severino said.
With David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman not having pitched since last Monday in Philadelphia, Boone took advantage of the later innings and lopsided score to get his “A’’ relievers work. Chapman gave up a run in the ninth to deprive the Yankees of their seventh shutout of the year.
Boone didn’t want to get too far down the road in regards to his club and the Red Sox being glued together until the end of September. Yet, he acknowledged taking two of three from the Red Sox was important.
“Obviously, a big series here on Sunday, that’s a peek at what we can do when we are really clicking,’’ Boone said.