BOSTON — Medical researchers visited a broiling Fenway Park on Saturday and discovered a soft pulse beating underneath the dehydrated Yankees skin.
Riding a three-game losing streak, lagging behind the AL East-leading Red Sox by a season-high seven lengths and facing John Lackey who had won four of five decisions, all indications were the Yankees were about to melt into New England’s living room.
Instead, Hiroki Kuroda provided seven solid innings in which he allowed two runs and three hits from Eduardo Nunez and Brett Gardner carried the Yankees to a 5-2 victory in front of 37,601 sweat-stained customers who suffered in 90-degree heat at the first pitch.
Anticipating rain the game was delayed by 21 minutes at the start but the sky never leaked.
Kuroda won for the second straight start and is 9-6. He allowed two runs, five hits, walked one and fanned four.
Nunez, who had four hits in 18 at-bats coming into the game, went 3-for-4 and scored a run. Gardner, who was in a 5-for-39 side and ejected at a critical part of the Friday night’s loss, went 3-for-5.
Robinson Cano drove in two runs and Luis Cruz scored three runs.
The victory allowed the Yankees to move six back of the Red Sox whose East lead over the second-place Rays was shaved to 1 ½ games.
Kuroda shut the Red Sox out through six but gave up two runs in the seventh that reduced the Yankees’ lead to 4-2. Jonny Gomes’ sacrifice fly scored David Ortiz and Kuroda wild-pitched the other run home.
David Robertson worked the eighth and was helped by catcher Chris Stewart going into the stands behind home plate to grab Dustin Pedroia’s pop up for the second out. Stewart then threw a one-hop strike to second to get Daniel Nava trying to advance from first to second for the third out.
Working for the first time since his MVP performance in the All Star Game Tuesday at Citi Field, Mariano Rivera notched his 31st save in 33 chances by getting the final three outs.
The Fenway crowd gave Rivera an ovation as he entered the game in the ninth and when he was introduced as the Yankees’ pitcher.
Eduardo Nunez’ second double of the game and third hit started the seventh and led to the Yankees stretching a lead from 1-0 to 2-0.
Chris Stewart, who bunted Nunez to third in the fifth, moved Nunez to third with a grounder to first. As the Red Sox did in the fifth they played the infield in with Luis Cruz at the plate.
The strategy paid off in the fifth when Cruz hit a grounder to short and Nunez was out at the plate. This time Cruz deposited Lackey’s first pitch into center for an RBI single and 2-0 lead.
When Brett Gardner followed with a single to left, lefty Matt Thornton replaced Lackey to face Ichiro Suzuki. His grounder to second forced Gardner at second and moved Cruz to third.
Robinson Cano’s soft single to left scored Cruz and Lyle Overbay’s single off the Green Monster plated Ichiro for a 4-0 bulge.