Cj Gunther/EPA, via Shutterstock
BOSTON — By the time the Yankees finally made it to Fenway Park this season, on Thursday night, the American League East race was all but over. The Yankees brought the majors’ best record, 66-35, into this four-game visit. Every other team on the Green Monster’s standings board was at least 10 games behind.
“Right now, they’re the best team in baseball,” Red Sox Manager Alex Cora said, politely, before his team stirred the Yankees’ worst fears by pulverizing Masahiro Tanaka, the best of their shaky starting pitchers, in a 19-3 rout.