Yankees clobber Red Sox again; Sale breaks finger

MATT Carpenter drove in three runs, Gerrit Cole struck out 12 in seven effective innings on Sunday afternoon and the New York Yankees cruised to a 13-2 rout of the visiting Boston Red Sox, who lost left-hander Chris Sale to a fractured left pinky finger.

Tim Locastro went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and two stolen bases as the Yankees cruised to a second straight blowout after dropping five of their previous six games. New York ended the first half with a team record 64 victories before the All-Star break.

Carpenter hit an RBI groundout in New York’s three-run first and then added a two-run double in an eight-run fourth. Carpenter drove in 10 runs in the final two games of the first half and has 34 RBIs in 31 games since joining the Yankees on May 26.

Cole (9-2) allowed a two-run homer to rookie Jeter Downs among four hits in seven innings. He struck out Rafael Devers twice after allowing two homers to the slugger July 7 at Boston.

Aaron Hicks also drove in a pair of runs, including an RBI single that injured Sale (0-1). Sale was injured when he attempted to field Hicks’ liner with his pitching hand and the ball caromed into right field, allowing Gleyber Torres to score New York’s third run.

DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge added RBI singles to start the eight-run fourth. Judge finished the first half with 33 homers in 89 games to match Roger Maris’ team record for homers before the All-Star break.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa added a sacrifice fly and the Yankees also scored on a throwing error by Devers at third. Joey Gallo contributed a two-run homer in the seventh after entering the game as a defensive replacement.

Sale allowed three runs and two hits in two-thirds of an inning. He was making his second start since returning from a fractured rib.

The Red Sox lost for the sixth time in seven games and finished the first half with 14 losses in their final 20 games. — Reuters