Soto’s Game-Winning Single in 10th Leads Yankees to Victory Over Red Sox…
NEW YORK — Juan Soto’s single to lead off the 10th inning secured a walk-off victory for the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox, 2-1, on Thursday night. With Jon Berti as the automatic runner on second, Soto’s hit off Josh Winckowski (4-2) just evaded a diving Trevor Story, allowing Berti to score before center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela could make the throw. This win marked the Yankees’ second consecutive walk-off victory, a first for them in three years.
Aaron Judge, who leads the majors with 51 home runs and 126 RBIs, extended his homerless streak to a career-high 16 games, going 1 for 4 with a single. Since August 26, he has a .207 average (12 for 58) and 21 strikeouts.
Gleyber Torres started the scoring with a home run off Cooper Criswell in the first inning, while Danny Jansen, recently acquired from Toronto, homered off Nestor Cortes in the fifth, marking his third home run for Boston.
The Yankees (85-62) have won five of their last seven games and now hold a two-game lead over second-place Baltimore (83-64) in the AL East, their largest lead since August 27. They have also won seven straight series openers.
Boston (74-73) fell 4.5 games behind Minnesota (78-68) for the final AL wild card spot. Clay Holmes (3-5) closed out the game by retiring the final two batters in the 10th, while Nestor Cortes and the Yankees’ bullpen combined to limit Boston to four hits.
In other games:
RAYS 5, GUARDIANS 2 Brandon Lowe hit a home run, and Tampa Bay’s bullpen held Cleveland to one hit over seven innings. The Rays snapped a three-game losing streak with the win. Lowe’s homer was his 18th of the season. Cole Sulser (1-0) pitched three hitless innings in relief, and Richard Lovelady earned his second save.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CARDINALS 6, REDS 1 Masyn Winn and Brendan Donovan both homered as St. Louis defeated Cincinnati. Sonny Gray (13-9) was perfect through five innings and finished with one run allowed on two hits and two walks, striking out nine. Donovan’s two-run home run in the seventh was his first career pinch-hit home run.
MARLINS 6, NATIONALS 3 Jake Burger had three hits, and Jonah Bride and Connor Norby drove in two runs each in Miami’s win over Washington. Bride’s game-tying single and Otto Lopez’s fielder’s choice put the Marlins ahead. Miami ended a three-game losing streak but remains 2-9 against the Nationals this season.
INTERLEAGUE
ROCKIES 4, TIGERS 2 Jacob Stallings’ ninth-inning RBI double lifted Colorado to a win over Detroit. Brendan Rodgers led off the inning with a single and scored on Stallings’ hit. Jake Cave added a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2. Tyler Kinley recorded his 12th save by retiring Zach McKinstry with runners on the corners.
