For Red Sox manager Terry Francona, it was a sign of Reddick’s growing maturity as a hitter.
“The at-bat before, he had swung at a ball that was probably two feet in front of the plate. He reeled it back in, got a strike, and went the other way,’’ Francona said.
Hughes (2-4) gave up a one-out double to right field by David Ortiz before intentionally walking Carl Crawford, who was 9 for 12 in the series. Pinch runner Darnell McDonald scored easily on Reddick’s hit.
“I was sitting on an off-speed first pitch,’’ Reddick said. “He had started David with that and that’s what I was banking on.’’
The Red Sox tied the game in the ninth against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.
Marco Scutaro led off with his fourth hit of the game, a double off the Wall. He was sacrificed to third by Jacoby Ellsbury and scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Dustin Pedroia.
“Scoot with a huge hit, Jacoby getting a nice bunt down, and Pedey with a good at-bat, and we get to keep playing,’’ Francona said.
It was the fifth blown save of the season for Rivera.
“The guy is probably the best closer ever,’’ Scutaro said. “I needed some luck, I guess.’’
Until the ninth inning, the Red Sox had left 10 runners on base, six in scoring position, against Freddy Garcia and four relievers.
Daniel Bard (2-5) pitched a perfect 10th inning to get the victory.
The Red Sox emerged back in first place, a game ahead of the Yankees. Starting tonight in Minnesota, they will play 14 of their next 17 games on the road.
The Red Sox are 10-2 against the Yankees, winning the season series for the first time since 2004 and for just the second time in the last 12 seasons. The teams still have six games to play. The Yankees return to Fenway Park at the end of August with the final series in New York near the end of the season.
The Red Sox loaded the bases to start the bottom of the second inning. Kevin Youkilis walked before Ortiz singled to right and Crawford reached on an infield single.
