Stanton and Rizzo Home Runs Power Yankees Over Red Sox

Giancarlo Stanton finished the 2021 season by mashing against the Red Sox.

The Yankees slugger has started off 2022 by doing more of the same.

Stanton crushed a two-run homer in the sixth inning, his second in as many days, to break a tie and lift the Yankees to a 4-2 win over the Red Sox on Saturday in The Bronx.

Anthony Rizzo also homered for the second straight game and Luis Severino threw three solid innings in his first start in more than two years as the Yankees clinched the series victory and opened a season 2-0 for the first time since 2018.

For the second day in a row, the Yankees’ bullpen was asked to cover a big chunk of innings and the relievers delivered again, this time throwing six no-hit frames to shut down the Red Sox.

“We got a chance to sweep the Red Sox at home,” Rizzo said. “Doesn’t matter when it is in the season, it’s a big game tomorrow.”

Stanton’s decisive blast came with one out in the sixth inning off Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta, who had held the Yankees to three hits up to that point. Stanton took advantage of a hanging slider, driving it 437 feet into the left-field seats in a hurry to snap a 2-2 tie.

“When G gets locked in, that’s what happens,” manager Aaron Boone said. “So finishing last year on a high note like he was and now coming off what I thought was a really meaningful and purposeful spring for him into this season, I just think he’s in a really good mental and physical space right now. That can be the result with a great player.”

Including his line-drive home run in Friday’s 11-inning win, Stanton has homered in six consecutive games against the Red Sox — including a late-September series and the AL wild-card game at Fenway Park — while batting 12-for-24 with 14 RBIs.

“We didn’t execute the most important one last year [the AL wild-card game], I know that, so just focused on right now,” Stanton said. “I had two fortunate ones to help us win this year. Just gotta keep it going.”

Severino, making his first start since the 2019 ALCS (he was limited to just six relief innings since then because of Tommy John surgery and various setbacks), lasted one batter into the fourth inning in an overall encouraging, if brief, debut. He struck out five and averaged 97.8 mph on his fastball, though he gave up five hits and his return was blemished by a two-run homer from Alex Verdugo in the second inning.

“It’s been a long time, but I remember very well how it feels,” Severino said. “I’m gonna do anything to help my team win.”

After Ron Marinaccio made his MLB debut by relieving Severino and working out of trouble to record a memorable scoreless frame with two strikeouts, Rizzo came through with his two-run shot off Pivetta to tie the score 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning.

From there, Stanton turned two hard-hit ground balls in his first two at-bats into an elevated hard-hit ball in his third for the go-ahead home run while a parade of Yankees relievers dominated the Red Sox.

After the bullpen gave up just one earned run over seven innings on Friday, the relievers combined for six more shutout innings Saturday to put the Yankees in a position to complete the sweep on Sunday night.

“It’s really fun to watch and good to be behind them and not in the box against them,” Stanton said. “They’re nasty and they’re going to be tough for guys all year.”

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