NEW YORK _ This was a night to gaze around empty Yankee Stadium, wondering how the place should have sounded.
Gerrit Cole was dealing against the Boston Red Sox, which would have made for a raucous Friday night setting; the Yankees' reeling rivals facing their new ace for the first time in pinstripes.
Toss in four hits by Gleyber Torres and a long home run by Gary Sanchez _ two players starting to find their swings after dreadful starts _ and imagine the party atmosphere, even with Aaron Judge on the sidelines.
Cole's strong seven innings during a thorough, 10-3 Yankees win also moved him a notch closer to a long-held MLB record.
With 20 victories in his last 20 decisions, Cole is approaching Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell's string of 24 straight wins, from 1936-37 with the New York Giants.
Jake Arrieta was the last pitcher to win 20 straight decisions, with the 2015-16 Chicago Cubs.
In his previous start, Cole was one out away from being in line for a victory.
But he couldn't complete the fifth inning at Tampa Bay, settling for a no-decision in Saturday's 8-4 win in the opener of a doubleheader.
Friday night, Cole (4-0) was sharp from start to finish, yielding one run on four hits and no walks.
J.D. Martinez looked overmatched, waving at three third-strike pitches _ three of Cole's eight strikeouts during a 95-pitch effort.
Boston's only run against Cole came when Alex Verdugo golfed a 1-and-1 breaking pitch into the right-field second deck, cutting the Yankees' lead to 2-1 in the fourth.
Losers of five straight games, the Red Sox (6-14) scored twice off Jonathan Holder in the eighth, forcing Adam Ottavino to end the threat.
The AL East-leading Yankees (13-6) are 7-0 at home to start this 60-game, 2020 season.
Before the game, Judge joined fellow Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton (strained left hamstring) on the 10-day injured list.
Judge's diagnosis of a left calf strain will keep him out at least through Aug. 21.
Into the void, Torres went 4 for 4 with a two-run double off starter Colten Brewer to give the Yanks a 2-0 lead in the third.
In a three-run fifth, Sanchez launched his third homer of the year and second in two games, a monstrous shot that cleared the visitors' bullpen and landed in the far-out left-field bleachers in left-center field _ estimated at nearly 460 feet.
And the substitutes for the stars came through.
Right fielder Mike Tauchman had three hits and four RBIs, belting an RBI double that preceded Sanchez's long homer off Ryan Brasier.
As the DH, Clint Frazier's two-run double gave the Yanks an 8-1 lead in the seventh.
Frazier went 3 for 4 with a homer and a double Wednesday, his 2020 debut, replacing Stanton on the active roster.
