NEW YORK, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Jed Lowrie bashed a three-run homer among his four hits Friday and the Boston Red Sox hung on to outslug the New York Yankees 10-8.
Lowrie's shot came in the second inning and put the Red Sox ahead for good. Bill Hall added a three-run blast and Darnell McDonald contributed a two-run single as the Red Sox knocked the Yankees out of first place in the American League East.
Josh Beckett (6-5) allowed five runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Leading 10-1 at one point, Boston had to hang on as the Yankees whittled the lead to two runs. Jonathan Papelbon fanned Robinson Cano with Alex Rodriguez on base to end the contest and notch his 37th save.
Yankees starter Andy Pettitte (11-3) was rocked for seven runs on 10 hits in a 3 1/3-inning stint.
New York smacked a season-high six homers in the loss, including two each from Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.
Coupled with Tampa Bay's victory over Seattle, the setback put the Yankees a half-game behind the Rays in the AL East. The Yankees lead second-place Boston by 6 1/2 games in the AL wild-card chase.
