G58: Red Sox 3, Yankees 0 (6, rain)

Red Sox - 000 111 - 3  8  0
Yankees - 000 00  - 0  2  0

Jose Iglesias and David Ortiz hit home runs and Clay Buchholz (5-5-0-1-4, 71) lowered his MLB-best ERA to 1.62, as the Red Sox won a rain-shortened game and dropped the slumping Yankees (losers of seven of their last eight games) into third place.

The Globe's Peter Abraham reports: "Buchholz has the lowest ERA after 11 starts for a Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martinez had a 1.44 after 11 starts in 2001."

Buchholz was off in the first inning, throwing 22 pitches, but issued only a one-out walk. In five innings, all but one of New York's 15 outs was recorded in the infield.

Manager John Farrell:

After the first inning, he started getting better touch and feel, and the last couple, three innings that he threw were as sharp as he's been all season. He threw an assortment of pitches ahead in the count. It looked like he could go to any single pitch in any given situation.

The Red Sox stranded two runners in the second and then broke through against Kuroda (5.1-8-3-0-5, 95) in the fourth. Dustin Pedroia and Ortiz (2-for-3) opened the inning with singles and FY scored on Mike Napoli's (2-for-3) fielder's choice. Iglesias homered to start the fifth and Ortiz launched a bomb to right-center in the sixth.

The game was delayed twice in the top of the sixth.

Clay Buchholz / Hiroki Kuroda

Nava, LF
Carp, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Drew, SS
Saltalamacchia, C
Iglesias, 3B
Bradley, CF

Buchholz is making his first appearance since May 22. He missed his last start "due to some discomfort in his AC joint around his collarbone, which appeared to be caused by falling asleep in a strange position while holding his daughter".

Buchholz's 1.71 ERA is tops in the American League, and 2nd in MLB (trailing Arizona's Patrick Corbin, 1.71). Kuroda is 5th in the AL at 2.39.

Buchholz is also the best in the AL in not allowing home runs (0.248/9 IP); he has allowed only two in 72.2 innings. ... Kuroda and Buchholz are 5th and 6th in AL WHIP, respectively.

Alex Speier notes that Felix Doubront "has now thrown quality starts in each of his five career starts against the Yankees, becoming the first pitcher to open his career against New York with five straight quality starts in the Live Ball Era (dating to 1920)".

Correction: MLB.com's Quinn Roberts writes: "Daniel Nava turned in his first career four-hit game Saturday night." That is wrong. Nava had four hits in a game twice last season: June 1 and June 20.