BOSTON — The best team in baseball sure looked ordinary the last two nights at Fenway Park.
After watching his team blow a big early lead en route to a second straight ugly loss to the Red Sox, it was hard to blame Aaron Boone for getting tossed Sunday night during a 11-6 loss.
The manager was ejected by home plate umpire Tripp Gibson after Giancarlo Stanton was caught looking to end the top of the seventh.
But the Yankees’ issues ran deeper than questionable calls, as Jameson Taillon was bad again, they gave up a season-high 11 runs and their defense was abysmal.
All of it allowed Boston to come from behind to beat the Yankees on consecutive nights in front of sellout crowds, as the Red Sox scored eight unanswered runs Sunday.
It ended the Yankees’ four-city, 10-game road trip with the team going 5-5, dropping to 61-25 on the season, but with a 14-game lead over second-place Boston.
Staked twice to four-run leads, Taillon gave up six runs — as well as a season-high three homers — in five innings. It was his fourth straight subpar outing.
The Yankees got off to a fast start, as Aaron Judge singled and Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-out homer against Nick Pivetta, his 22nd homer of the season.
Pivetta walked Matt Carpenter and Aaron Hicks to lead off the second and Jose Trevino followed with an RBI single into the left-field corner, but was thrown out at second. Isiah Kiner-Falefa added an RBI single to make it 4-0.
Staked to an early four-run lead, the home run ball got Taillon again.
After giving up four homers over his last three starts, Taillon allowed a two-out, two-run shot to Franchy Cordero in the second.
Carpenter, though, hit a two-run homer in the third, giving Taillon another four-run cushion.
This time, it didn’t last.
Christian Vazquez took him deep with two outs in the third.
Following a scoreless fourth, Taillon got into trouble again in the fifth.
With two out and Jackie Bradley Jr. on third, Vazquez belted a run-scoring double.
Pitching coach Matt Blake came to the mound for a visit and J.D. Martinez hammered Taillon’s next pitch into the seats in right-center to bring the Red Sox all the way back.
It also continued a worrisome stretch for Taillon, who has given up 27 runs over 35 ²/₃ innings in his last seven starts for a 6.81 ERA after having a 2.30 ERA in his first 10 outings. He’s also allowed 20 earned runs in his last 21 innings.
Aroldis Chapman entered in the sixth, as the Yankees try to determine a role for the left-hander.
Trevor Story hit a high pop-up into shallow right to lead off the inning, but DJ LeMahieu, shifted towards second base, couldn’t come up with the catch and it went for a single.
After Cordero walked, former Yankee Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Bradley and walked to load the bases.
Chapman struck out Bobby Dalbec before pinch-hitter Jeter Downs popped up a ball to shallow center, where LeMahieu flubbed it again. It went for a fielder’s choice, as Story scored the go-ahead run.
With runners on the corners, Chapman struck out Vazquez to end the 27-pitch inning and keep it a one-run game.
That didn’t last, as Kiner-Falefa made a throwing error to start the bottom of the seventh and Miguel Castro loaded the bases before giving up a three-run double to Story.
On the bright side for the Yankees is that after Monday’s off day, they’ll face last-place Cincinnati for three games — although the Reds have won four in a row.
