YANKS GAMEDAY

Red Sox shortstop Eduardo Nunez didn’t attempt a bunt Friday night, unlike in the series opener between the Yankees and Red Sox Thursday, when his bunt off CC Sabathia sparked the big lefty’s ire.

Instead, Nunez did far more damage to his old team, blasting a Sonny Gray offering into the left field stands in the third to give Boston the lead, as the Bombers lost 4-1 in front of 42,332 at the Stadium.

Take that, CC. Andrew Benintendi and Hanley Ramirez whacked solo homers off Gray, and the Yankees dropped 5.5 games behind Boston in the American League East.

“I got beat on three pitches tonight. I don’t think that was a bad pitch (to Nunez), but he beat me. He just was able to get underneath it and put a good swing on it,” said Gray. “It’s hard to win games when your pitcher gives up three homers.”

Gray pitched admirably, lasting seven innings. He gave up four runs on five hits and struck out nine. But he got little run support and Gray's counterpart, Boston right-hander Doug Fister, not an overpowering pitcher by any stretch, confounded the Bombers all night. After a hiccup in the first inning, Fister methodically worked through the Yankee lineup for seven innings, and he surrendered a run on four hits to improve to 4-7. He retired nine Yankees in a row during one stretch.

“I think it’s the late movement (Fister) has. He doesn’t rely on power. He just kept it off the barrel,” said Joe Girardi. “It’s one of those, you kind of scratch your head when you look at the line score (for Gray). Problem is three of the hits were home runs, and that’s what killed him.”

Aaron Judge, perhaps inspired by his meeting with Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor Thursday, whacked an RBI double in his first at-bat to put the Yankees on the board in the first inning. Brett Gardner had led off the game with a double to center, and scored on Judge’s rope to left. The Yankee bats were mostly silent after that, however, with Jacoby Ellsbury hitting a single in the second, and Chase Headley successfully bunting — take that again, CC — in the seventh.

After his double, Judge, who batted second, struck out, grounded out and flied out to the warning track in the eighth.