There are normal losses, there are rivalry losses, and then there’s whatever the Yankees just put themselves through at Fenway.

This wasn’t supposed to be one of those nights. For seven innings, it barely even felt like a game worth circling. Sonny Gray was in complete control, carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning. The Red Sox had a quiet 2-0 lead since the fourth, and the Yankees’ offense looked stuck in neutral, grinding through at-bats without ever really threatening anything. It had that slow, predictable feel — like the only question left was whether Gray could actually finish it off against a team he used to play for.

Instead, what should have been remembered as a masterpiece turned into one of the strangest rivalry games you'll see all season. The final two innings were pure chaos, and by the time it was over, almost nobody was talking about the first eight anymore.

This Was Supposed To Be Sonny Gray's Night

For the first seven-plus innings, this game felt pretty straightforward. Sonny Gray had everything working, and the Yankees had absolutely nothing for him. They weren't just getting shut out — they couldn't even manage a hit. He punched out nine, walked one, and really made the Yankees look like they were guessing all night. He was ahead in counts (at one point he had 21 of 24 first-pitch strikes), missing bats when he needed to, and when they did make contact, it wasn’t doing anything. It just kept turning into a quiet walk back to the dugout.

And yeah, the former-Yankee angle just made it hit a little harder. His time in New York never really worked, and everyone kind of moved on from it without looking back too much. So seeing him on that mound at Fenway, in a Red Sox uniform, flirting with a no-hitter against the Yankees — that alone could’ve been the whole story.

For most of the night, the Yankees didn’t give him any reason to think otherwise.

They had nothing. Not “almost had something.” Not “a couple hard-hit balls right at guys.” Nothing. Amed Rosario finally broke it up with one out in the eighth on Gray’s 97th pitch, but by then the game already felt decided. Boston had scratched across two unearned runs earlier, Carlos Rodón kept it from getting out of hand, and Gray had turned the rest into a pretty stress-free night.

If it ends 2-0, everyone thinks the same thing and moves on. Gray shoves. Yankees don’t hit. Red Sox finish the sweep with a little extra edge because of who’s on the mound. Simple. Clean. Makes sense.

But of course, that’s not how this one went.

The Yankees Somehow Found A Door

Up until the ninth inning, it honestly didn't feel like the Yankees had much of a chance. They had one hit, had spent the entire night looking overmatched against Gray, and hadn't really put together anything that resembled a sustained rally. It looked like they were just counting down the final three outs before getting swept out of Fenway.

Aroldis Chapman comes in up 2-0, and all of a sudden the Yankees don’t look completely lifeless. José Caballero pokes a single. Anthony Volpe works a walk. Ben Rice lifts one to right, and Wilyer Abreu rushes a throw that gets away trying to nail Caballero. A run scores, Volpe moves to third, and now the Yankees — who did nothing for eight innings — are one decent swing away from tying it.

They get it. Paul Goldschmidt comes off the bench, rolls one that brings Volpe home, and just like that it’s 2-2.

Which is already ridiculous. They were getting no-hit into the eighth. There was no rhythm, no pressure, nothing. Then in the span of a couple minutes, Boston cracks the door and the Yankees kind of just wander through it.

And then the tenth shows up and takes it a step further.

Automatic runner on, and somehow it’s Amed Rosario right in the middle of it again. He singles to right, Abreu doesn’t handle it cleanly, and Max Schuemann scores to make it 3-2. Another shaky throw lets Rosario take second. Then Austin Wells hits into a fielder’s choice that brings him in, and now it’s 4-2 Yankees.

Think about how ridiculous that sounds. They were no-hit into the eighth inning. They had looked completely lifeless for most of the night. Yet there they were, three outs away from stealing a game they had absolutely no business winning. That's baseball sometimes. It makes absolutely no sense until it does.

Fenway Turned Into A Blender

If the Yankees taking the lead felt unbelievable, it somehow lasted all of a few minutes.

Boston came to the plate in the bottom of the tenth down two runs, but the mood around Fenway had completely changed. After watching the Red Sox nearly hand the game away, the place went right back to believing another twist was coming. And it didn't take long.

Fernando Cruz comes in up 4-2, and there’s already an automatic runner already in scoring position, Fenway got loud again, and a city like Boston doesn’t need anything fancy. Just get a couple guys on, make it uncomfortable, and force something to happen.

That’s exactly what they did.

Anthony Seigler lines one to right, Durbin scores, and just like that it’s 4-3. Yoshida follows with a pinch-hit double, and now you can feel it shifting again. Tsung-Che Cheng lifts a sac fly to tie it, and at that point it doesn’t even feel surprising anymore.

Then Jarren Duran steps up and ends it.

Which honestly fits the night perfectly. He wasn’t even in the starting lineup. Comes in late, gets the biggest at-bat of the game, and just shoots one into right. And of course it lands exactly where the Yankees opened things up by bringing the outfield in and loading the infield. That’s baseball at its most annoying — the move makes sense, until it doesn’t, and then it’s the exact reason you lose.

The Red Sox looked like they had it won. Then they looked like they'd completely blown it. Then they won anyway. Somewhere in the middle of all that, Sonny Gray's masterpiece quietly became a footnote.

All stats courtsy of MLB.com.

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