Bronx, NY — The New York Yankees opened their first showdown of the season against the Boston Red Sox with a statement, scoring five runs in the opening inning and riding the early momentum to a 9-6 victory Friday night at Yankee Stadium in front of a sell out crowd.
Anthony Volpe set the tone with a home run in the first, but his night was cut short after taking an 88.2 mph fastball from Walker Buehler off his left elbow in the second inning. He exited before the fourth, though manager Aaron Boone later confirmed that both X-rays and a CT scan were negative.
Aaron Judge stayed red-hot at the plate, racking up his ninth game with three or more hits and boosting his league-best batting average to .397. In front of a crowd of 46,783, Jazz Chisholm Jr. delivered a standout performance with three hits, a home run, four RBIs, and two stolen bases. Paul Goldschmidt also went deep as the Yankees built leads of 7-0 after two innings and 8-1 by the fifth.
New York’s offense was relentless, with every player in the starting lineup recording at least one hit. The Yankees improved to 39-23, having won nine of their last 12 and 15 of their last 20, pushing them a season-best 16 games over .500.
The Red Sox, now 30-35, continued to struggle, dropping their ninth game in their last 12. Defensive woes also persisted, with two more errors pushing their MLB-leading total to 57.
Rafael Devers provided some late offense for Boston with his 29th career homer against the Yankees, a two-run blast in the seventh off reliever Brent Headrick. Rookie Marcelo Mayer also contributed, hitting his first major league home run—a 410-foot shot to right-center in the fifth inning.
In his return to the Bronx after helping the Dodgers clinch the World Series last fall, Buehler (4-4) endured a tough outing, surrendering seven runs (five earned) on seven hits over just two innings and throwing 67 pitches.
Devin Williams locked down the win for New York, securing his seventh save in eight opportunities.
Turning Point:
Chisholm’s first-inning homer—a towering drive off a curveball below the zone—extended the Yankees’ lead to 3-0 and energized the home crowd.
By the Numbers:
Opponents are batting .326 against the Red Sox in the opening inning this year. The Yankees have now scored 20 first-inning runs, tied for the most in the majors.
Looking Ahead:
The series continues Saturday night with Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough (3-0) set to face off against Boston’s Garrett Crochet (5-4).
