Major League Baseball

Red Sox 5, Yankees 4

Published May. 14, 2011 1:26 a.m. ET

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So much for the Yankees being inspired by facing the Red Sox.

Unable to solve Clay Buchholz, except for Russell Martin's two-run homer, the Yankees left the potential tying runs on base in the eighth and ninth innings of a 5-4 defeat Friday night that extended their losing streak to three.

''I think there's no question we can do better,'' said Alex Rodriguez, batting .188 with six RBIs since April 23. ''We can step up and have more quality at-bats and come up with big hits. We haven't done that the past week or longer, so maybe we'll feel much better down the line.''

Bartolo Colon (2-2) made his first start since an orthopedic surgeon said he injected stem cells into the pitcher's right shoulder and elbow last year. He gave up three runs - two earned - five hits and three walks in six-plus innings.

But in the first Friday the 13th game between the rivals in New York in 20 years, Buchholz (4-3) allowed only two runs in seven innings. The Yankees lost their third straight home game for the first time since Sept. 22-25 and dropped two games behind AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays.

''I'm hoping this brings out the best in us because we have not played very well for the last week-and-a-half, two weeks,'' Yankees manager Joe Girardi had said before the game.

It didn't.

In losing seven of their last 10 and dropping out of first place, the Yankees have hit .246.

Time for a batting order shakeup?

''We talk about things all the time, things we could possibly do,'' Girardi said. ''And we'll continue to discuss it.''

In the first game between the rivals in New York this season, Buchholz won his third straight start and Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis homered for Boston, which stopped a two-game skid and remained five games out of first.

As crowd of 48,254 filled the ballpark for the first sellout since opening day, Gonzalez homered into the right-field second deck leading off a two-run fourth against Colon (2-2), his fourth homer in three games. Gonzalez put the Red Sox ahead 3-2 with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly off Joba Chamberlain. Youkilis reached out for a 98 mph fastball and powered it over the right-field scoreboard for a two-run homer.

Chamberlain had not allowed a run in his previous six appearances.

''I knew it wasn't a good pitch as soon as I let it go,'' he said.

Colon, who turns 38 on May 24, struck out Jacoby Ellsbury with a 96 mph fastball leading off the game and topped out at 97 mph.

''Everything was right where I wanted it,'' Colon said. ''The only thing I could have done much better was giving up the home run.''

Daniel Bard allowed Curtis Granderson's leadoff triple to the base of the left-field wall in the eighth, then threw a run-scoring wild pitch that made it 5-3. Rodriguez walked, Bard hit Robinson Cano on the left foot with a pitch, and the runners advanced on a double steal. In the key sequence of the night, Bard struck out Nick Swisher with a 99 mph fastball and fell behind Jorge Posada 3-0 before working the count full and inducing an inning-ending grounder to second on a 101 mph pitch.

''We're just not coming up with that big hit,'' Posada said.

Jonathan Papelbon finished for his sixth save in seven chances, ending career-high stretches of six games and 20 days without one. He allowed Granderson's two-out RBI single before getting Mark Teixeira to pop out with the tying run on base.

''It goes in waves,'' Teixeira said. ''Right now, we're just not scoring a lot of runs like we're capable of.''

NOTES: New York RHP Phil Hughes began his rehab program by throwing 30 times from 50 feet on flat ground. Hughes hasn't pitched since April 14 after experiencing a lack of velocity in his first three starts, when he was 0-1 with a 13.94 ERA. ... Yankees RHP Carlos Silva is to pitch at Double-A Trenton on Saturday after two starts for Class-A Tampa. He was released by the Chicago Cubs during spring training and agreed to a minor league contract with New York on April 9. ... The stadium public-address system failed to work in the late innings. ... Jeter, in a 2-for-16 slide, singled in the ninth and with his 2,964th hit moved past Sam Crawford into sole possession of 29th place. ... The previous time the teams played on Friday the 13th was in April 2001, when Manny Ramirez's two-run single in the 10th off Mariano Rivera gave Boston a 3-2 win at Fenway Park. This was the first Friday the 13th meeting in New York since September 1991, when Phil Plantier's three-run, pinch-homer in the sixth sent Boston to a 5-4 win - the Yankees' eighth straight loss. In August 1954, Whitey Ford's nine-hitter and Phil Rizzuto's two-run homer helped the Yankees to an 8-2 victory in the Bronx.

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