NEW YORK (AP) — The bumbling Boston Red Sox lost yet again, with A.J. Burnett making his most impressive start in nearly three months and Jorge Posada hitting a two-run homer that led the New York Yankees to a 6-2 victory in the opener of Sunday’s day-night doubleheader.
Boston entered with a 112-game lead over Tampa Bay for the AL wild-card spot. What was a runaway nine-game advantage heading into play on Sept 4 would be completely gone by the end of Sunday if the Yankees swept and the Rays beat Toronto.
At 5-18 (.217), the Red Sox are on track to their worst September since going 4-18 (.182) in 1926, according to STATS LLC.
Derek Jeter had three hits to lift his average to .300 at the end of the game for the first time since April 2.