BOSTON _ Luis Severino had pitched at Fenway Park only twice before, and the right-hander didn't especially enjoy the experience. Wednesday night likely went a ways toward changing that.
Turning in perhaps his most impressive outing as a Yankee, Severino threw seven shutout innings in a 3-1 victory over the Red Sox on an eerie 50-degree night, when much of the game was played in mist and dense fog.
This being Fenway, the Red Sox inserted some late theater in the ninth, bringing the potential winning run to the plate against closer Aroldis Chapman. Andrew Benintendi walked and Mookie Betts doubled off the Monster. Pinch hitter Chris Young's grounder to third made it 3-1 and, with Hanley Ramirez at the plate, Betts went to third on a wild pitch.
Ramirez walked to put runners on the corners for Jackie Bradley Jr., still one out. Chapman recovered, striking out Bradley with a slider, then struck out Josh Rutledge on a 97-mph fastball for his fifth save in five chances.
Aaron Judge, who turned 25 Wednesday, co-starred with Severino. The 6-foot-7, 280-pound right fielder laced a two-run homer in the second inning to put the Yankees (12-7) on the board, then flipped head over heels into the crowd in pursuit of a third-inning foul ball. The effort, which resulted in an out after a replay review, caused just as much elation in the Yankees dugout as the home run.
The 23-year-old Severino's only other start at Fenway came last Aug. 9, a forgettable game in which he allowed five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. This time, he was brilliant from the start. With a fastball that consistently reached 97 and 98 mph throughout and his typically effective slider, Severino (2-1, 3.00) allowed three hits. He struck out six and walked two, giving him 33 strikeouts and only four walks in 27 innings.
Greg Bird, who entered the game 5-for-48, including one hit in his previous 22 at-bats, lasered a single off the wall in left in the sixth to make it 3-0.
Dellin Betances struck out two in a perfect eighth before Chapman's shaky ninth, in which he threw 33 pitches.
Judge gave Severino a lead in the second, which Starlin Castro started with a routine grounder to short. Xander Bogaerts fielded the ball cleanly but threw low to first for an error. Judge followed and banana-sliced the first pitch he saw from Rick Porcello (1-3) to right field for his seventh homer, making it 2-0.
According to Elias, Yogi Berra and Roger Maris were the only other Yankees to homer on their birthdays at Fenway. Maris was the most recent, on Sept. 10, 1966.
Porcello, last year's AL Cy Young Award winner, struck out the next three batters. He allowed three runs (two earned) and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out nine.
Ramirez singled with one out in the second but Severino retired Bradley and Rutledge on grounders.
In the third came Judge's second big moment.
Marco Hernandez led off with a single and with one out, Bogaerts lifted a 1-and-1 pitch into foul ground in right field. Judge, running full speed, watched the ball disappear into his glove just before his lower torso slammed into the short wall. First base umpire Mark Carlson initially ruled Judge did not catch the ball, but the Yankees challenged and the call was overturned.
Severino got Benintendi to fly out to end the inning, and the pitcher waited by the dugout steps to pat Judge on the backside. As Judge descended into the dugout, the reaction was not dissimilar to that following any of his seven homers.
