NEW YORK — Juan Soto hit a game-ending single leading off the 10th inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Boston Red Sox 2-1 Thursday night as Aaron Judge’s homerless streak stretched to a career-high 16 games.
With pinch-runner Jon Berti on second as the automatic runner, Soto reached out for a sinker on the outside corner and grounded a single against Josh Winckowski (4-2) just past the glove shortstop Trevor Story, who tried for a diving, backhand grab.
Center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela’s one-hop throw was up the third-base line and Berti slid in head first ahead of catcher Connor Wong’s attempt for a lunging tag to give the Yankees back-to-back walk-off wins for the first time since May 8 and 9, 2021, against Washington.
Soto was mobbed in the infield and said he will remember his first walk-off hit for the Yankees.
“The crowd, my teammates and everybody, I mean, those guys they were running hard on me,” he said. “I just did not know where to go.”
Judge, who leads the major leagues with 51 homers and 126 RBIs, went 1 for 4 with a single and is batting .207 (12 for 58) with 21 strikeouts since Aug. 26. He went homerless in 15 games from Aug. 17 through Sept. 2 in 2017.
He hit a first-inning drive that Wilyer Abreu caught in front of the right-field wall and a 104.7 mph grounder that third baseman Rafael Devers grabbed with a spinning stop and turned into an inning-ending double play in the fifth.
“Homers, even for guys like him, they still come in bunches and you’re going to have those stretches,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I guess it’s amazing that he has avoided those. But, I mean, that’s just a testament to how good of a hitter and how much power he has but I thought he had good at-bats tonight and almost got one.”
Gleyber Torres homered off Cooper Criswell leading off the first and Danny Jansen went deep against Nestor Cortes starting the fifth. Acquired from Toronto in late July, Jansen hit his third home run for Boston and first since Aug. 10.
New York (85-62) won for the fifth time in seven games and opened a two-game AL East lead over second-place Baltimore (83-64), the Yankees’ largest since before play on Aug. 27. The Yankees have won seven straight series openers.
Boston (74-73) dropped 4 1/2 games back of Minnesota (78-68) for the final AL wild card.
“You have to stay positive,” Devers told reporters. “You can come tomorrow and win then win the next two games and you’re right back there again in the fire. Keep playing and stay positive.”
Clay Holmes (3-5), demoted from his closer’s role after blowing 12 saves in 41 chances, retired the last two batters of the 10th as Nestor Cortes and four relievers combined on a four-hitter.
Anthony Volpe left the bases loaded with inning-ending flyouts in the fourth and sixth.
Coming off his first relief appearance in three years, 4 1/3 hitless innings to win at the Chicago Cubs, Cortes allowed three hits and three walks in five innings with nine strikeouts. He has allowed 24 homers this year, eight more than previous career high.
“There’s always that chip on my shoulder as far as belonging here, belonging in the big leagues, and I never want to lose that edge,” he said. “That’s what keeps me going.”
Cortes was accepting of the bullpen role but had complained after the Sept. 7 game in Chicago, saying: “Obviously I was upset. I felt like I’ve been, amongst all the starters, the workhorse here. Once (Gerrit) Cole went down, they picked me to be the opening day starter — not necessarily the No. 1, but the opening day starter. I had to switch my routine there. … “Now they do this.”
He said after facing the Red Sox: “I know last week I might have came off like I was asking for too much, but I got my point across and at the end of the day, I’m going to do whatever this team needs for me to do to win, whether it’s throwing 40 pitches out of ‘pen or 70 pitches out of the ’pen or starting a full game.”
Criswell gave up four hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings.
Rafaela’s 102.3 mph liner leading off the eighth knocked off the glove of reliever Tim Hill, who picked up the ball with his bare left hand and threw to first for the out.
Giancarlo Stanton, in a 1-for-26 slide, blooped an opposite-field single into right in the fourth. Rizzo was hit by a pitch for the 220th time.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred met separately with both teams before the game.
Tierna Davidson, Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett and Lynn Williams of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic women’s soccer team were honored on the field before the national anthem.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: RF Rob Refsnyder was scratched because of right wrist discomfort and replaced by Romy González, then pinch ran in the 10th inning.
UP NEXT
Boston All-Star RHP Tanner Houck (8-10, 3.24) is scheduled to start Friday on eight days’ rest after getting pushed back because of soreness. RHP Clarke Schmidt (5-3, 2.23) makes his second start for the Yankees since recovering from a strained right lat muscle.
___
AP MLB: https://www.apnews.com/hub/MLB
