Nathan Eovaldi, the Yankees’ talented enigma, stifles Red Sox

6:38 PM ET

NEW YORK — It was only five days ago that Nathan Eovaldi faced the same Boston Red Sox team with virtually an identical lineup — the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters were flip-flopped — as he faced Saturday at Yankee Stadium. He was even opposed by the same starting pitcher, David Price, and was backed by an ostensibly better New York Yankees batting order that included Jacoby Ellsbury and Alex Rodriguez.

On that night, Eovaldi went out and pitched a stinker, allowing six earned runs in five innings, for which he needed 100 pitches, and the Yankees lost, 8-7.

So it would only be natural to head to Yankee Stadium with some trepidation for the rematch, since in the interim the Yankees had lost two more games in Baltimore and three more players (Ellsbury, Rodriguez and CC Sabathia) to injuries. And Eovaldi was still Eovaldi, magnificently talented and maddeningly inconsistent, a promise that kept getting broken.

But this time, Eovaldi went out and pitched a gem — eight innings of two-run ball — while the Yankees’ depleted lineup slapped Price around, laughing their way to an 8-2 victory, their second win in a row, something they had not accomplished since April 22-23.

Nathan Eovaldi went eight innings against the Red Sox, striking out six to pick up his second win. Noah K. Murray/USA TODAY Sports

Yes, the bats came to life against the disappointing Price (who is 4-1 but with a 6.75 ERA), but the real story was Eovaldi, who once again showed the Yankees a glimpse of what he might be if he is ever able to fully harness the lightning in his right arm.

“When I see Nathan pitching, I think about a lot of guys that I faced in the past,” said Carlos Beltran. “Kevin Brown. Roger Clemens. That type of stuff is not fun to hit against.”

And yet Eovaldi has often been one of the most hittable pitchers in baseball. In 2014, as a member of the …

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