Trailing by 9.5 games in July, New York Yankees tie Boston Red Sox in standings

NEW YORK — Aaron Boone’s Yankees were a smoking wreck the last time they met the Boston Red Sox, looking more like a disjointed assemblage of parts than a playoff contender.

Remember?

Way back on July 25, Domingo German took a no-hitter and a four-run lead into the eighth inning, only to watch the Red Sox come back for a 5-4 win at delirious Fenway Park.

That left the Yankees 9.5 games behind the first-place Red Sox, capping four months of unremarkable, underachieving play.

And the questions ranged from “How could Boone survive this?’’ to “Could GM Brian Cashman be a seller at the trade deadline?’’

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Three weeks ago seems like a season ago – a period in which the Yanks added two sluggers via trade and withstood another wave of injuries and COVID cases.

The Red Sox?

They watched the Yankees get a player they needed in Anthony Rizzo, then went 7-12 while the Yankees went 15-5 heading into their day-night doubleheader Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

And this time, all the breaks went the Yankees’ way in a doubleheader sweep of seven-inning games, 5-3 and 2-0.

Luke Voit’s soft, two-run single provided a fifth-inning lead and Jonathan Loaisiga's great escape – with none out and the bases loaded – secured the opener.

Luis Gil's scoreless streak 

And in the nightcap, rookie Luis Gil kept his scoreless streak intact as the Yankees won their fifth straight game, and their 12th in the last 15. 

Solo homers by Voit and Giancarlo Stanton off Boston starter Nathan Eovaldi made the difference, Chad Green got the save and the Yankees (68-52) essentially pulled even with Boston (69-53) in the AL wild-card standings.

Over his first three MLB starts, Gil has gone 15.2 innings without giving up a run, and his streak was preserved in Tuesday’s fifth inning by two other arms – Joey Gallo’s and Wandy Peralta’s.

In left field, Gallo’s strong arm prevented the swift Jarren Duran from tagging up and scoring on Alex Verdugo’s fly out.

Gil exited to a standing ovation with the bases loaded and two out, leaving the lefty Peralta to retire Rafael Devers on a grounder to preserve the 2-0 lead.

Brilliant defensive plays by second baseman DJ LeMahieu, center fielder Brett Gardner and Peralta kept Boston off the board in the sixth.

That sequence ended with Peralta deflecting pinch-hitter Bobby Dalbec's comeback liner, chasing it down and gunning to first base to end a threat with runners at the corners. 

Opening Houdini act

After loading the bases to start the seventh inning of the opener, Loaisiga teetered on the brink.

Loaisiga fell behind pinch-hitter Travis Shaw 2-0 before getting him to fly out to shallow left field.

Next, Loaisiga fell behind Enrique Hernandez 3-0 before striking him out, and then he struck out Hunter Renfroe with 39,078 fans standing and screaming their approval.

"You could see his confidence, like, 'I got this,' '' said Boone, who has been without closer Aroldis Chapman (elbow inflammation) since Aug. 7.

"It’s a matter of trusting yourself and the experience you’ve gotten over the season and buckling down and executing,'' Loaisiga said through an interpreter after getting the last six outs for his fifth save this season. 

Loaisiga "has all the tools to be great out there,'' Boone said. "And he has the confidence now to go with it.''

As a team, “we’ve played more than our share…of really close ones,’’ said Boone, whose club owns a 45-23 record in games decided by two-or-fewer runs this year, tops in the majors.

“(Our) guys are comfortable in those spots.’’

How the Yankees came back

Returning from the COVID list to make his first start since Aug. 1, lefty Jordan Montgomery pitched into the fifth inning of the opener.

But leading off the fifth, Christian Vazquez pulled Montgomery’s full-count cutter over the left field wall for a 3-2 Boston lead.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora's bullpen strategy backfired as former Yankees farmhand Garrett Whitlock walked Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge with one out, and lefty Josh Taylor walked Joey Gallo to load the bases.

Taylor then jammed Voit, who managed to lift a soft liner to center just beyond the reach of second baseman Enrique Hernandez for a two-run single and a 4-3 lead. 

Going for the jugular, Boone pinch-hit with Stanton, who ripped an RBI single to center to complete a three-run inning.

Bronx connection 

Of course, the Yankees' rise wouldn't be complete without a Bronx tale.

A graduate of Fordham Prep, Bronx native Andrew Velazquez’s two-run single to center gave the Yanks a 2-0 lead in the second. 

One of the new wave ‘Next Man Up’ Yankees, Velazquez is getting starts at shortstop for the injured Gleyber Torres (sprained left thumb), in the midst of a second straight disappointing season.

"That one hit alone made everything worth it,'' said Velazquez, who had 11 members of his family in the stands Tuesday. 

Growing up a Yankees fan, "I probably imagined that a million times,'' Velazquez said of his moment against the Red Sox. 

"I got chills out there a few times,'' Velazquez said of the energy in the Stadium.

Around the clubhouse, "I feel the vibe (is that) we expect to win every day. The boys are battling. It’s beautiful.''

Pete Caldera is the Yankees beat writer for NorthJersey.com. Email: caldera@northjersey.com; Twitter: @pcaldera