Yankees sweep of Red Sox buries them in division race

The Yankees 7-4 victory over the Red Sox on Sunday, resulted in Boston’s 55th loss of the season, one more than they had in all of 2018.

Despite losing both Edwin Encarnacion and Aaron Hicks to the 10-day IL, the Yankees next man up motto rang true on Sunday night, as the Bombers teed off on Red Sox starter David Price, giving Boston their eighth loss in a row (their longest losing streak since 2014) and knocking them 14.5 games back of first-place.

All-in-all, the Yankees further proved their resiliency in a season marred by injuries. Aaron Judge, who missed a chunk of time with a severe oblique strain, mashed an opposite-field home run in the first inning to get things started.

It’s hard to believe of Judge’s 12 long balls in 205 at-bats this season, not one of them has been hit to left field — but the short porch of Yankee Stadium, when combined with compensating for the zap in core strength, makes this understandable. It was also his first homer since July 19.

More from Yankees News

• Yankees’ Clay Holmes trade just became even bigger disaster for Pirates
• Mets stealing New York Post’s entire Yankees offseason plan is hilarious
• Yankees add to championship core with Wilmer Difo signing
• Aaron Judge’s ‘breadcrumbs’ showed he was never leaving Yankees, has more moves in mind
• Yankees analyst Cameron Maybin projects surprise landing spot for Gary Sánchez

The third inning would be Price’s last, as Gio Urshela, who was acquired from Toronto for cash considerations on August 4, 2018, crushed a two-run shot on an 83-mph changeup.

Unfortunately, for Price, the bleeding didn’t stop, as he allowed six straight runs off the bats of Cameron Maybin, Mike Ford, Kyle Higashioka and Mike Tauchmann.

With 51 regular-season games remaining and Boston 16 games behind New York in the loss column, shooting for a Wild Card spot is their only realistic option for a postseason berth. Alex Cora’s bunch are currently 6.5 back of Tampa Bay for the second WC.

However, even when the Yankees are riding high, the injury bug bites with ferocity. Gleyber Torres, who has been one of the club’s hottest hitters as of late, left in the eighth inning with a core issue that will require additional testing.

Urshela, the find of the season, fouled two balls off both his right and left shin — the second sending him to the ground in writhing pain. Although he finished his sixth at-bat of the contest, Urshela was forced out before Boston came to the plate in the ninth.

With plenty of swelling, which resulted in both his legs being heavily wrapped and a noticeable postgame limp, X-ray’s did come back negative. Urshela believes he “is going to be good” and expects to travel with the team to Baltimore.

As for the Red Sox and David Price, in nine appearances in the Bronx, he has just one win which came on June 3. And as a stark reminder, the Yankee Faithful offered a remiscent chant of the past when they serenaded Price with a chorus of “Who’s your daddy?” as he exited after only 2.2 innings.