Red Sox shock Yanks on Hanley HR in 9th

BOSTON — Hanley Ramirez created a wild walk-off finish for the Red Sox on Thursday night with a towering three-run homer off closer Dellin Betances to cap a stunning 7-5 victory over the Yankees at Fenway Park.

Ramirez’s second career game-winning homer came with two outs and capped a five-run bottom of the ninth. Ramirez’s homer, projected at 426 feet by Statcast™, was the longest that Betances has allowed this season. The drive came on a 99.3-mph pitch; just five homers in the Majors this year have been hit on faster pitches.

“I was trying to go to the moon,” said Ramirez. “That’s why I was sitting on a fastball the whole time. Just stay back and let it rip.”

• Statcast™ of the Day: Hanley’s HR dissected

For most of the night, the Yankees were in control. But it turned into a classic finish, even for this epic rivalry, thanks to several exciting plays in the late innings.

Boston was down, 5-1, before David Ortiz ripped a solo homer to center in the eighth for career homer No. 537, moving him past Mickey Mantle and into sole possession of 17th place on the all-time list.

Just minutes after the fantastic finish, Mookie Betts called it his best baseball moment.

“Some other guys have gotten into the playoffs and won World Series; for me, that’s at the top of the list,” said Betts, who drilled an RBI single to make it a one-run game just before Ramirez stepped up.

The comeback gave the Red Sox a two-game lead in the American League East over the Orioles, who lost to the Rays in Baltimore on Thursday. The fourth-place Yankees, meanwhile, fell to five games back in the division and three games behind the Blue Jays, who hold the second AL Wild Card spot and defeated the Angels on Thursday.

• Up-to-the-minute standings

A high spin rate is often what makes a four-seamer effective, as it gives the ball a “rising fastball” effect. The league average is 2,264 rpm, and Betances’ final pitch (2,500 rpm) exceeded that level by a healthy margin. Betances’ season average is 2,503.

“It’s frustrating,” Betances said. “This one, definitely, we had that game. You don’t want to do that this late. Obviously, we’re trying to win games; when that happens, you’re not helping in any case. It’s definitely frustrating. I just have to go out there and be better the next time out.”

Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka carved up the Red Sox, allowing four hits over seven innings of one-run ball and lowering his ERA to an AL-best 2.97.

Starlin Castro led the charge for the visitors with a four-hit, two-RBI night. Veteran Billy Butler had a nice debut for New York with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.

“This one hurts; we’ve got to bounce back,” …

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