On a memorable Saturday, Ben Rice achieved a historic feat for a Yankees rookie by hitting three home runs, while his team accomplished a rare win.
The magic didn’t last.
The bright moment quickly faded, giving way to a stark reality.
A struggling offense and team squandered any momentum, falling back into their slump.
The Yankees lost another series in disappointing fashion, getting shut out by the Red Sox 3-0 in front of 45,250 fans in The Bronx on Sunday night.
The Yankees’ (55-37) decline—losing 15 of their last 20 games and falling three games behind the Orioles in the AL East—began in mid-June in Boston. They haven’t won a series since, going seven consecutive series without a victory.
After a promising 14-run outburst on Saturday, the Yankees were shut out for the sixth time this season.
Rice followed his historic day with a forgettable performance, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
For the second consecutive day, manager Aaron Boone left his struggling starting pitcher in to face Rafael Devers, and for the second consecutive day, the decision backfired.
After the Red Sox All-Star hit a home run off Gerrit Cole’s final pitch on Saturday, Devers took a seventh-inning fastball from Luis Gil and narrowly cleared the left-field wall to break the scoreless tie.
Gil was removed from the game two batters later.
In the eighth inning, Ceddanne Rafaela crushed a Luke Weaver cutter deep into the left-field seats.
Devers, a notorious Yankees nemesis, took Michael Tonkin deep in the ninth inning for his second home run, capping the scoring on a night when the Yankees couldn’t touch Kutter Crawford and two Boston relievers.
The Yankees rarely struggled as much as they did against Crawford, who cruised through seven innings, allowing just four hits and no walks while throwing only 68 pitches.
The Yankees’ offense had few opportunities and failed to capitalize on any of them.
Their best opportunity came in the seventh when Juan Soto led off with a double to right-center. However, Aaron Judge struck out, Alex Verdugo grounded out, and Anthony Volpe lined out to left, leaving Soto stranded at third.
The Yankees’ offense managed just four hits, squandering Gil’s best start in over a month.
Gil, who had been struggling in his past three outings, had previously pitched like an ace for two and a half months after returning from Tommy John surgery. Facing questions about his arm tiring, Gil responded by hitting 99.3 mph with his fastball and averaging 97.7 mph.
Gil was back to his dominant form, allowing only Devers’ home run over 6 ²/₃ innings, striking out nine and walking none.
He was untouchable but in a different way than earlier in the season, using his changeup sparingly—just 15 of his 96 pitches.
