NEW YORK — CC Sabathia shut down the Boston Red Sox for the fourth time this season and the New York Yankees got homers from Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird on the way to a 6-2 victory Thursday night in the opener of a pivotal four-game series.
Bird drove in three runs and Sanchez had two RBIs as the second-place Yankees shaved Boston’s lead in the AL East to 4 1/2 games.
Eduardo Rodriguez suffered the loss.
This weekend set in the Bronx marks the final meeting of the season between the longtime rivals — and perhaps New York’s last chance to make a serious run at its first division title in five years.
Sonia Sotomayor attended the game in The Judge’s Chambers.
The Bronx-born U.S. Supreme Court Justice was in the Yankee Stadium crowd Thursday night for the opener of New York’s four-game series against the rival Boston Red Sox.
Of course, she held court in The Judge’s Chambers, the rooting section out in right field for power-hitting Yankees rookie Aaron Judge.