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Red Sox 8, Yankees 0

Red Sox, Rick Porcello roll past Yankees

Rick Porcello allowed five hits with six strikeouts over seven shutout innings. Above: Porcello threw a pitch in the fourth inning.Barry Chin/Globe Staff
Red Sox8
Yankees0

The Red Sox planned to have Rick Porcello pitch the eighth inning against the Yankees on Saturday night. But they kept scoring so many runs in the bottom of the seventh that manager John Farrell gave up and had Robbie Ross Jr. get warmed up.

That’s the way this weekend has gone at Fenway Park. Porcello was untouchable and a lineup quickly proving to be one of the more potent in the game piled up 13 hits in an 8-0 victory before a crowd of 37,901.

The 14-10 Red Sox have won six of seven and eight of their last 11 games. They have David Price set to pitch on Sunday night after outscoring the Yankees, 12-2, in the first two games of the series.

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Jackie Bradley Jr. was 3 for 3 with two triples, a double, a walk, two runs scored, and three RBIs for the Sox. Mookie Betts was 2 for 5 and drove in three runs. David Ortiz added another home run.

“Winning games. That’s why we’re here,” Porcello said.

There are many reasons the Red Sox are again interesting to watch. That Porcello is 5-0 with a 2.76 earned run average is high on the list.

Dropped to fourth in the rotation after a rocky spring training, Porcello has been a cornerstone since. He has gone at least six innings in every start and on Saturday allowed only two runners beyond first base.

Porcello scattered five singles and struck out six with one walk. Nine outs came on the ground.

“I felt like my sinker was actually pretty sporadic the first two innings. I kind of found the groove with it and settled in,” Porcello said.

Going back to Aug. 26, Porcello is 9-4 with a 3.00 ERA in 13 starts and has gone at least six innings in every game.

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“The ability to make the adjustment from pitch to pitch, that’s been probably the biggest thing,” Farrell said. “He’s been sharp. If he gets out of whack or misses with a pitch he’s right back into the strike zone with quality location. He’s carrying it through a pretty extended period here.”

In his last four starts throwing to Christian Vazquez, Porcello has allowed only 17 hits and six earned runs over 26⅔ innings while striking out 29.

“He’s easy to work with. We get into a good flow out there. There’s not any time I’m stepping off the rubber to get to a pitch that I want,” Porcello said.

Said Farrell: “The thing that kind of stands out is just the tempo of the game. We know how well Christian receives. But the pace in which they’re going at it, it’s controlled but it’s up tempo.”

The Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, getting to Yankees starter Michael Pineda (1-3) with two outs.

Vazquez singled to left field then took third when Bradley went the other way with a double off the wall in left. Betts followed with a popup to the right side that was too deep for the infielders and too shallow for right fielder Carlos Beltran. The ball fell in and two runs scored.

Pineda did not give up another run but lasted only five innings because of the 106 pitches he threw.

Lefthander Chasen Shreve started the sixth inning and the Sox scored two more runs.

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Brock Holt drew a walk with one out and scored when Bradley lined a triple to the gap in right field. Facing Kirby Yates, Betts reached on an infield hit, scoring Bradley.

Rookie Johnny Barbato was the next pitcher out of the bullpen to start the seventh and shortly after was the latest Yankees pitcher taken deep by Ortiz.

Ortiz jumped on a fastball and sent it soaring over the Red Sox bullpen in right -center, seven rows deep into the bleachers.

It was Ortiz’s second home run in as many nights, his fifth of the season, and No. 508 for his career.

Ortiz has 450 home runs with the Red Sox, two shy of matching Carl Yastrzemski for second place in team history.

Ortiz finished April with 19 RBIs. He is on a pace to hit 34 home runs and drive in 129.

Bradley’s second triple drove in two more later in the inning.

Bradley is 10 of 27 with three doubles, three triples, a home run, nine RBIs, and five runs scored in the last seven games. He is hitting .272 with an .807 OPS.

“It sounds simple but just put the barrel on the ball. I don’t want to force things,” Bradley said. “Sometimes when I try and force things, I manipulate my swing. I just want to put the fat part of the bat on the ball.”

Farrell, much like interim manager Torey Lovullo did last summer, stayed with Bradley when he slumped earlier this season.

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“At times guys need some patience, they need support, they need encouragement,” Farrell said. “Jackie has lived through some challenges in his time here in Boston but he continues to grow.”

The last-place Yankees (8-14) have lost four straight and scored 12 runs in their last seven games. It was the worst shutout for New York at Fenway Park since a 10-0 loss in 1973.

“You want to start a season the right way, you want to do things the right way. It’s obvious that’s not the way it is right now,” Beltran said.


Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.