BOSTON _ The lights at Fenway Park dimmed another degree on Monday night, where the Red Sox's sworn rivals have lately had the run of the place.
And now, the Yankees have received some measure of revenge for 2018.
Behind another strong outing from starter James Paxton, the first-place Yankees eliminated Boston from AL East contention with a 5-0 victory before 35,884 fans.
One day after the defending world champions dismissed Dave Dombrowski as president of baseball operations, the fast-fading Red Sox (76-68) were left clinging to a faint wild card hope.
Meanwhile, the Yankees (95-50) were headed off to a series at Detroit, armed with a nine-game AL East lead with 17 games remaining in the regular season.
"No matter where we are in the season, no matter what level of grind it is ... that hunger has carried them well," manager Aaron Boone said of his club earlier this week. "In a lot of ways, they feel like there's a lot of unfinished business."
"Maybe after the fact," Yankees pitcher J.A. Happ said earlier this week, asked if the club might take some pleasure in closing off a division-title path for a team that eliminated the Yanks in last year's AL Division Series.
"We've done such a good job on the one-day-at-a-time cliche," Happ said. Still, "they knocked us out (in 2018, so) I'm sure it wouldn't feel bad" to return the favor in 2019.
Paxton was brilliant again, pitching 6.2 scoreless innings and striking out seven batters.
The lefty gave up four hits and did not walk a batter in winning his eighth straight start, dating to Aug. 2 against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
Over his last four starts, Paxton has pitched to a 1.42 ERA, and he has not allowed a run since the fourth inning of his Aug. 28 start at Seattle � a span of 15 innings.
His offensive support was initially provided by backup catcher Austin Romine, who homered off lefty Eduardo Rodriguez in the fifth.
Making his first start since coming off the injured list due (tight left groin), third baseman Gio Urshela homered to start a three-run seventh inning against the beleaguered Boston bullpen.
Romine double and scored on D.J. LeMahieu's single and Aaron Judge's double pushed LeMahieu to third, allowing him to score on a Gleyber Torres sacrifice fly.
