Red Sox rout Yankees, 15-7

Steve Pearce spearheads assault with three-homer game in opener of four-game series.

BOSTON -- And to think the bullpen was supposed to be the strength of the Yankees following the passage of Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline.

Jonathan Holder, Chad Green and Luis Cessa dispelled that notion for one memorable night Thursday at Fenway Park, as two veteran position players added by the Red Sox stole the headlines instead.

Steve Pearce and Ian Kinsler endeared themselves to the sellout crowd of 37,317 on hand with key swings at the plate and stellar defensive plays in the field. Boston’s early deficit wound up a footnote as the bats came alive in a 15-7 trouncing of New York, the first matchup in the weekend four-game set for American League East command.

Pearce fell just a grand slam shy of the home run cycle, crushing solo, three-run and two-run shots in order between the third and sixth innings. His final blast caromed off one of the light towers high above the Green Monster, sewing up the first three-homer game of the 35-year-old’s lengthy career. He joined Mo Vaughn (May 1997) and Kevin Millar (July 2004) among the trio of Red Sox players to enjoy three-homer games against the Yankees.

“It’s a great feeling – a feeling I’ll never forget,” Pearce said. “It was exciting, especially when you get home and you see all your teammates waiting for you. To be able to celebrate with them, it’s a great feeling.”

“I know July 31 is a big day in baseball because of the trades and everything that goes on, but we made a good baseball move early in the season,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He’s been great for us.”

Kinsler contributed on both sides of the ball from his spot at second base. Offense came first thanks to two singles, a double and a pair of runs scored. Defense followed thanks to two touches of the spectacular in the seventh, as Kinsler made a diving backhanded catch to rob Aaron Hicks of a hit and ranged behind the bag at second to gun down Gleyber Torres.

“All-around game,” Cora said. “That’s what he’s here for.”

Noted Red Sox killer C.C. Sabathia withered in the stifling mid-summer heat, removed after just three innings and 77 pitches. Sabathia carried a 1.83 earned-run average against Boston over his last seven starts, but he was long gone by the time the home team’s bats roared to life. Holder’s entrance was akin to waving raw meat in front of a pride of lions, and the Red Sox pounced in historic fashion.

Holder didn’t retire any of the seven batters he faced, with Boston going from a 4-2 deficit to a 10-4 lead in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Holder’s best chance to establish himself passed by when failed to record an out on Andrew Benintendi’s one-hopper back to the mound, allowing Jackie Bradley Jr. to make a mad dash from third base and slide in safely ahead of the tag. That set the stage for Pearce, who launched a hanging breaking ball onto Lansdowne Street to push the Red Sox in front 6-4.

J.D. Martinez, Eduardo Nunez and Bradley each followed with doubles in the inning, as Nunez and Bradley drove in runs courtesy of liners to left field. Benintendi slipped a single inside the bag at third to chase Green and cap the rally, one that took all of 45 action-packed minutes.

“Relentless,” Cora said. “That was probably our best offensive inning of the season, and we’ve had some good ones.”

Starter Brian Johnson recovered in time and battled just hard enough to last through the fifth inning, earning the victory. Only once in the Boston left-hander’s 137 professional outings has Johnson notched more than the 11 strikeouts he posted, that coming when he rang up a dozen New Britain Rock Cats in a July 2014 outing for Double-A Portland.

“Any time the team wins, that’s all that matters,” Johnson said. “Once we started getting the lead I just needed to go out and keep grinding.”

Didi Gregorius rocked Johnson with a three-run homer in the first and Aaron Hicks drove a solo shot in the second, giving New York a 4-0 lead. The tone of the evening had changed considerably by the time Gregorius popped a solo homer to right in the fifth, as the Red Sox were well on their way to victory.