Alex Verdugo goes off in revenge game, Red Sox fall to Yankees 8-1

The Boston Red Sox welcomed the New York Yankees to Fenway Park on Friday night for their first of three games, and after a rain delay, Alex Cora's team was handed an 8-1 loss.

Boston's starter, Brayan Bello, continued to struggle, as he gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out five over 4 2/3 innings. That included a two-run home run to former Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo, a run in the fourth that he allowed to score due to his own fielding error which was arguably the team's worst fielding miscue of the year (and that's saying something).

Verdugo finished the night 3-for-5 with four total RBIs, as he reminded Boston why he was the biggest part of the return in the Mookie Betts trade.

Cam Booser (1/3 inning) and Zack Kelly (two innings) did their jobs in relief with scoreless appearances out of the bullpen, but Chase Anderson (two innings) allowed the final three runs.

However, even if the Red Sox's pitching staff was fine, they were unable to do anything offensively. They struck out 14 times while recording just five total hits (nobody had multiple). Their lone run game came from an Enmanuel Valdez RBI double in the fourth inning.

This loss drops Boston back to .500 on the season (35-35) and just 16-20 at Fenway Park. The two teams will meet again on Saturday for Game 2.