Yankees get much needed victory against rival Red Sox

12:43 AM ET

NEW YORK — Going into what Joe Girardi called “probably as important a game as we’ve had in July in a long time,” the manager of the New York Yankees had to like his team’s chances.

After all, No. 1 starter Masahiro Tanaka was on the mound.

And, perhaps even more importantly, he was pitching on extended rest.

OK, so maybe Girardi doesn’t enjoy talking about that particular stat, but Tanaka has pitched well in starts in which he has more than four days off — and that trend continued in what felt like a must-win game for New York on Sunday night.

Facing the prospect of being swept by the hated Boston Red Sox and falling even further behind their hated rivals in the American League East, Tanaka tossed six innings of one-run, three-hit, seven-strikeout ball, outdueling David Price and enabling the Yankees to claim a 3-1 victory in front of 42,884 at Yankee Stadium.

A rested Masahiro Tanaka was able to stop the Yankees’ slide and give New York a much-needed victory. Brad Penner/USA Today Sports

The Yankees (45-46) are now 8.5 games back of first-place Baltimore and 6.5 behind Boston.

“It was a must-win for us today,” said hot-hitting outfield Carlos Beltran, who went 2-for-4 with a double. “We knew that we were going to face a good pitcher in Price. Thank God we were able to put some runs on the board, which was huge for us, and Tanaka pitched a great game.”

Tanaka (7-2, 3.15 ERA) came in 5-0 with a 1.72 ERA in 10 starts with more than four days off and 1-2 with a 5.33 ERA in his other eight starts. Asked if Tanaka would take his next turn on regular rest on Friday, Girardi incredulously responded …

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