Soriano, Yankees stay hot

BOSTON -- The New York Yankees are starting to look like the Bronx Bombers again.

Led by a recent surge by Alfonso Soriano, the Yankees are also starting to make a run.

Soriano continued his recent hot stretch with a three-run homer and four RBIs, newly signed Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer and the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 10-3 on Friday night.

"It's unbelievable," New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez said of Soriano, breaking into a slight smile after being booed repeatedly during the game. "It's like slow-pitch softball."

It was the fifth win in six games for the Yankees, who are starting to creep back into the American League East chase. They trail division-leading Boston by 7 1/2 games after Friday night's win.

Nearly a week ago, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on his radio show that the club needed to win 35 of its final 47 games to land a playoff spot. They've gone out and responded with a good week thanks mostly to Soriano's recent tear.

"They're having fun with him," he said of the team's reaction to Soriano. "They probably don't want to see him come out of it either. They're laughing with him and having fun with him."

Soriano has gone 13-for-21 in his last four games with 18 RBIs and nine runs scored.

Soriano walked into the middle of the room, approached a group of reporters and joked, "Here we go again," about the attention for his answers during the surge.

"I think motivation, going back to the Yankees, trying to help the team win," he said of why things are going so well lately.

The Red Sox lost for the sixth time in eight games and saw their lead atop the East cut to one game after Tampa Bay beat Toronto.

Andy Pettitte (8-9) pitched solidly into the seventh inning, giving up three unearned runs and six hits, striking out five and walking one before leaving with two outs in the inning. He was 0-3 in his last five starts and ended a franchise-record string of giving up at least one run in the first inning of eight straight starts.

"We're playing well," Pettitte said. "Hopefully, we can rattle off a whole lot of wins in the last 40 games."

Felix Doubront (8-6) was tagged for seven runs and eight hits -- two homers -- in four innings.

The Yankees opened a 7-0 lead before Boston made a charge.

"Two swings cost us five runs," Boston manager John Farrell said. "This wasn't one of our more sharp efforts."

Girardi could only smile when asked about his lineup now looks against left-handed pitching with Soriano and Reynolds.

"We've got a lot more power," he said.

Boston cut the lead to 7-3 against Pettitte in the seventh and had two runners on with two outs when pinch-hitter Mike Carp went down to first, claiming he was hit on the front foot by reliever Shawn Kelly's pitch. After the umpires huddled, he was called back to the plate. Two pitches later, he was called out on strikes.

Carp fired his helmet to the ground and was ejected by plate umpire Bill Welke.

RBI singles by Ichiro Suzuki, Reynolds and Chris Stewart against Drake Britton made the score 10-3 in the eighth.

The Yankees wasted little time breaking to a big lead against Doubront. Soriano's RBI single gave them a 1-0 lead in the first and his three-run homer made it 6-0 in the third.

"You're looking at a powerful right-handed hitter in the middle of the lineup who caught fire since he came over," Farrell said.

Leading 1-0 in the second, Reynolds homered into the seats above the Green Monster to make the score 3-0. Picked up because the club needed a right-handed bat to platoon with left-handed hitting Lyle Overbay, Reynolds became the 14th Yankee since 1961 to homer in his first plate appearance with the team.

NOTES: Speaking to reporters in the Yankees dugout about two hours before the game, Rodriguez denied reports that his camp leaked information about others involved in the Biogenesis case. "When I heard about it four months ago, it was very surprising to me," he said. "The most important thing is that I spoke to (teammate, Francisco) Cervelli. ... He understands completely that it's not true." ... The Red Sox, who arrived home from Toronto a few hours after midnight, play three at home against the Yankees before heading out to the West Coast for three games against the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... Reynolds was designated for assignment by Cleveland last week before signing with New York on Thursday. ... Cano extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... Doubront had allowed three or fewer runs in his last 16 starts and 20 of 21 overall. ... Hiroki Kuroda (11-7, 2.33 ERA) faces John Lackey (7-10, 3.32 ERA) on Saturday. ... As expected, Rodriguez was booed loudly. The fans chanted, "You do steroids!" during his second at-bat.