Betts’ 3 HRs, double pace Red Sox rout

Mookie Betts and the Boston Red Sox followed up one rout with another, capitalizing as the New York Yankees’ starting pitchers faltered in historic fashion.

Betts homered in his first three atbats off James Paxton and added an RBI double as the host Red Sox beat New York 105 on Friday night, pulling within nine games of the AL Eastleading Yankees.

“I think now’s the time,” Betts said. “It’s getting later and we have to start stringing together some wins and we’re doing that.”

Betts homered on Paxton’s eighth pitch in a threerun first that included J.D. Martinez’s tworun homer, went deep again leading off the third for a 40 lead and hit a tworun drive in the fourth for a 70 advantage.

Betts added an RBI double in the sixth off David Hale to give him five RBIs. With his fifth career threehomer game, Betts raised his season total to 18 homers.

Batters have had threehomer games on four straight days for the first time in bigleague history. Betts followed the New York Mets’ Robinson Cano, St. Louis’ Paul DeJong and Minnesota’s Nelson Cruz.

“It’s crazy just to see it once,” Betts said. “But I guess to see it four straight days, there’s a lot of good hitters out there, and they’re showing it.”

Andrew Cashner (105), coming off losses in his first two starts after Boston acquired him from Baltimore, allowed three runs and 10 hits in 62⁄3 innings.

Martinez had three RBIs for the Red Sox, who won the opener of the fourgame series 193.