David Hamilton leads Red Sox over Yankees with stolen base record

BOSTON — The Red Sox were trying to run right past the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball, and ultimately stole nine bases to set a franchise record.

At least initially, the Yankees looked poised to withstand Boston’s fast-break offense. In fact, manager Aaron Boone’s squad looked like they were going to come up with one of those momentum surges that the game’s most storied rivalry has been known for.

But thanks to Zack Kelly, who came on with the bases loaded and nobody out in the seventh and his team clinging to a one-run lead, there would be no comeback for the Yankees. Instead, the Red Sox rode Kelly’s great escape and all those steals — including four from David Hamilton — to a 9-3 victory over the American League East-leading Yankees in the rubber match of a three-game series at Fenway Park.

Kelly had no margin for error and he didn’t give an inch, not even after falling behind to Gleyber Torres — the first batter he faced — 3-0. In a stirring sequence, Kelly came back with a four-seamer and a cutter for called strikes, and got Torres to swing and miss at a sweeper in the dirt.

Kelly followed that clutch out by striking out Jose Trevino on three pitches and getting DJ LeMahieu on a flyout to center as the Fenway crowd roared through the seventh-inning stretch.

Momentum, in fact, swung back in Boston’s direction in a big way as the bats created some breathing room in the bottom of the inning on a laser-beam, RBI single up the middle by Rafael Devers and Connor Wong’s two-run triple into the corner in right that got by Alex Verdugo.

The Houdini act by Kelly was the turning point on a night Kutter Crawford turned in six strong innings (three hits, three runs, one walk, nine strikeouts) and the offense manufactured an early 4-1 lead, compiling six steals through the first five innings.