BOSTON — When the Yankees acquired Nathan Eovaldi nearly four years ago, they were making a bet: that a young pitcher with a 100 mile-per-hour fastball and a favorable contract would find a way to flourish.
On Saturday, they got front-row confirmation that they were right.
Unfortunately, for the Yankees, Eovaldi was not pitching for them, but against them. He delivered eight shutout innings on Saturday to carry the Boston Red Sox to a 4-1 victory, which was assured only after a tense ninth inning when a jittery Craig Kimbrel retired Greg Bird on a fly ball with the bases loaded to end the game.