BOSTON — Yankees right-hander Domingo German had been on a roll, but the Red Sox put a forceful end to his recent run of success on Friday night.
German, who owned a 2.20 ERA over his previous seven starts, logged his shortest outing of the season, a two-inning implosion that saw him charged with seven earned runs. Trouble began during German’s 32-pitch first inning when, with a 1-0 lead, he surrendered a two-run double to Masataka Yoshida. The drive just missed clearing the Green Monster.
Justin Turner, meanwhile, had the distance when he hit a two-run homer over Fenway Park’s tall wall in the second. But he and the last-place Red Sox were hardly done, as they handily beat their third-place American League East rivals, 15-5.
Turner added a grand slam in the third inning following a few defensive mishaps from the Yankees. This time, he went deep off Matt Krook, who made his long-awaited major league debut on Friday. Krook had spent 12 total days on the Yankees’ active roster before seeing action, but the 28-year-old rookie left his first MLB game with a 27.00 ERA after permitting five earned runs over 1 2/3 innings.
Turner ended the night with a game-high six RBIs, while Yoshida totaled three to go along with four hits. Triston Casas, Connor Wong and Pablo Reyes combined for four more RBIs.
The Yankees, meanwhile, mustered their first run on an Anthony Rizzo groundout in the opening frame. Rizzo then drove in two more with an RBI double in the sixth. Billy McKinney added an RBI single in the sixth as well.
Josh Donaldson then hit a solo homer over the Monster and out of Fenway in the eighth inning, but the Yankees were in too big of a hole at that point. That pit deepened in the eighth, when super utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa gave up an additional run in his second mop-up appearance of the season.
Tanner Houck kept the Yankees at bay for the second start in a row, but his night ended prematurely after a Kyle Higashioka line drive struck the Red Sox righty in the face in the fifth inning. Houck, who walked off the field under his own power but with a towel over his face, allowed one run over four innings.
The Red Sox said that Houck exited with a facial contusion, but they didn’t provide specifics during the blowout game.
Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt is scheduled to face Red Sox righty Brayan Bello on Saturday. However, Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t sound optimistic about the rainy forecast prior to Friday’s game, and he expected a Sunday doubleheader if Saturday’s game were to be rained out.
Luis Severino and James Paxton are Sunday’s probable pitchers.
