Cole, Stanton lead Yankees past Red Sox 8-3, cut lead to 1

BOSTON (AP) — Gerrit Cole showed the Yankees he’s ready for the important games soon to come. Nathan Eovaldi left the Red Sox with nothing but worries.

In a potential AL wild-card preview, Cole took a two-hit shutout into the sixth inning and led the Yankees to an 8-3 victory Friday night, snapping Boston’s seven-game winning streak and pulling New York within one game of the Red Sox in the standings.

“He’s a great pitcher. He’s our ace. He’s a horse,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “There’s a very short list of people you’d rather hand the ball to.”

With Boston in its lucky yellow jerseys and Fenway Park sold to capacity for just the third time this season, Cole (16-8) no-hit the Red Sox for 3 2/3 innings and New York coasted to its fourth straight win.

Eovaldi (10-9) barely made it out of the first inning and couldn’t get through the third.

“The good ones, they have bad ones,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora, whose team holds the top American League wild card.

Giancarlo Stanton had three hits, including a three-run homer, for the Yankees, who are one game back and in position for the second wild card; Toronto lost 3-1 to Minnesota and fell two games behind New York.

Unless the Blue Jays — or Seattle or Oakland — can catch one of them, the Red Sox and Yankees would meet in a one-game playoff Oct. 5 for the right to advance to an AL Division Series.

Whoever finishes better over the last eight games could host the winner-take-all matchup. And this weekend in Boston might have a lot to say about that.

“I haven’t gotten quite to the point where I’m really pondering that. I still have some work to do,” said Cole, who noted that he has played in three wild-card games and seen the home team lose two of them. “Regardless...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Cole-Stanton-lead-Yankees-past-Red-Sox-8-3-cut-16486422.php