NEW YORK – Luis Gil made his third scoreless start early in his career, and the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 2-0 on Tuesday night to sweep them in a double run.
Luke Voit and Giancarlo Stanton each contributed home runs to the cause of New York, which outscored Boston itself by a few percentage points in the fight for a wild-card berth in the American League playoffs.
In Game 1, Jonathan Loáisiga escaped a jam with the bases loaded and no outs in the final inning after New York capitalized on the Boston relievers’ rampage to beat the Red Sox 5-3 on Tuesday night.
The Yankees have won five consecutive games, 12 of 15, to narrowly overtake Boston for second place in the AL East. New York is 68-52, while the Red Sox are 69-53, a difference of 0.001.
Just on July 5, the Yankees were 10 1/2 games behind Boston, which was then the leader but has since had a 26-11 record.
The Red Sox appeared to improve, after a 3-11 streak, thanks to a sweep over bottom Baltimore in three games this weekend. Now, Boston is suddenly without a postseason ticket, having led the division for much of the season.
Gil (2-0) allowed three hits, walked four and struck out four in 4 2/3 innings. He hasn’t allowed a run in 15 2/3 innings of his career in the majors.
This is the longest streak of its kind by a rookie Yankees pitcher since at least 1961, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The previous record was from Joba Chamberlain, with 15 1/3 innings in 2007.
Gil is the only major league pitcher since at least 1901 with no runs allowed and with 15 or more strikeouts after his first three games, according to the YES Network.
The loss in the second game went to Nathan Eovaldi (10-8).
Loáisiga, a Nicaraguan right-hander, pitched a perfect sixth in Game 1 before Boston loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh with three singles.
Pinch hitter Travis Shaw hit a line to left field in his first at-bat since being acquired Sunday, but the ball didn’t go far enough for a sacrifice fly.
Subsequently, Loáisiga struck out Kiké Hernández and Hunter Renfroe, yelling loudly after crediting his fifth save of the season.
In the initial meeting, for the Red Sox, Puerto Rican Kiké Hernández 2-0, one scored; and Christian Vázquez 3-2, with a run scored and an RBI. The Dominican Rafael Devers 3-1.
For the Yankees, Gary Sánchez 3-0. The Venezuelan Rougned Odor 2-2, one scored.
In the second game, for the Red Sox, Puerto Rican Hernandez 4-1. The Mexican Alex Verdugo 2-0. The Dominican Rafael Devers 3-0.
For the Yankees, the Venezuelan Rougned Odor 3-1.
.