BOSTON _ The momentum from one of the season's most impressive victories failed to carry over.
Not even close.
After beating Chris Sale on Saturday night, the Yankees sleepwalked through a 5-1 loss to the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 36,911 at Fenway Park, once again giving Sonny Gray little offensive support.
The Yankees (66-57), who lost two of three in falling five games behind the Red Sox (71-52) in the AL East, managed just three hits.
Struggling right fielder Aaron Judge went 0-for-4 and extending his big-league record to 37 straight games with a strikeout.
Boston had 12 hits, with Brock Holt, Andrew Benintendi, Mitch Moreland, Sandy Leon and Jackie Bradley Jr. each getting two.
The Bombers' lone run came in the fifth when Brett Gardner hit his 20th homer of the season, a screaming liner off Rick Porcello that just cleared the short wall in right near Pesky Pole.
They did nothing thereafter, with Boston pitchers retiring 14 straight to end it.
Gray, who did not receive any run support in his first two outings as a Yankee, wasn't sharp but limited the damage. The right-hander allowed two runs and seven hits over five innings. He walked two and did not strike out a batter.
Porcello came in 7-14 with a 4.59 ERA but had been far better of late, 3-4 with a 3.61 ERA in his previous seven starts. Sunday the right-hander allowed one run and three hits over six innings. Brandon Workman and Addison Reed threw scoreless innings and, after Tommy Kahnle gave up two runs in the eighth to make it a non-save situation, All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel worked a perfect ninth.
The Yankees had some chances early, and none late.
The first game in the second inning.
Chase Headley continued swinging a hot bad, cracking a two-out double off the base of the wall in left-center. Todd Frazier walked but Tyler Austin struck out looking.
The Red Sox then took the lead in the bottom half. Xander Bogaerts blooped a single to right and, after Aaron Hicks made as spectacular diving catch on Moreland's sinking liner to center, Leon dumped a single to left. Bradley Jr. followed by lining a 2-and-0 fastball into the triangle in right-center, the two-run triple making it 2-0.
The Yankees left another runner on in the third. Brett Gardner singled with one out and stole second as Hicks struck out (Gardner was called out by on a Porcello pickoff attempt but the call was overturned via replay challenge). Judge grounded to second to end the inning.
The Bombers looked as if they'd score in the fourth when Porcello lost command, walking Sanchez and Headley consecutively with one out. But Frazier popped to first and Austin, whose three-run homer led the way in Saturday's victory over Chris Sale, struck out for the second time in as many at-bats Sunday.
Through four innings the Yankees were 0-for-4 with RISP and had stranded five, though they had forced Porcello to throw 80 pitches.
Gardner's homer made it 2-1 but the Red Sox pushed it back to a two-run lead in the sixth against Adam Warren, aided by a wild pitch.
Moreland singled with one out and, with Leon at the plate, went to second on a wild pitch. That proved critical when Leon grounded to Didi Gregorius, who was shifted behind second, allowing Moreland to take third. Bradley Jr.'s broken-bat single to right, on a 2-and-0 changeup, brought in Moreland to make it 3-1.
